The Honeymooners
by Irish Rose1
Summary: Tess assigns a story to Clark and Lois that neither are sure they want. The main ingredients? A week in a honeymoon suite and too much time alone. So what could possibly happen?
1. The Honeymooners

_Such big, strong hands. _

_Hands that were skimming her body with a gentleness and reverence that she'd never experienced with anyone before and certainly never thought she'd experience with him. _

_At the same time, his warm lips were kissing her in places that she hadn't realized were so sensitive and tuning her body so that it was in sync with his. He was making it abundantly clear what it was that he wanted, but he also made it clear that he wouldn't proceed until she told him it was all right. _

_The thing of it was, she knew what she wanted and who she wanted was him._

"Lois?"

Go away!

"Lois, you need to wake up."

_Smallville._

"Come on Lois, you can't sleep at your desk," His soft voice was insistent that she wake and all she wanted him to do was leave her alone so she could stay with the feel of those hands.

She started and then her eyes flew open at the feel of a hand on hers, only to see Clark crouched in front of her, a look of concern on his face.

_Now_ he decides to be concerned?

He'd only been Mr. Distant since he'd come back from wherever the hell he'd disappeared to and not told anyone.

"How long have you been here?" The worry in his beautiful blue eyes made her heart hitch and she had to give herself a stern talking to about that.

'_He's not interested, Lois.' _She chided herself. _'The hold Lana has on him is too strong.'_

"Lois, how long have you been here?" Typical Smallville, he wouldn't let it go.

"I don't know." She felt her face warm at the way his hand felt on hers and she pulled it free as she sat up. "I was waiting."

"Waiting for what?" She swore she saw a look of hurt cross his face as she put some distance between them and then had to look away; it wasn't fair how handsome he was. Maturity and his increasing confidence as a reporter had made him nearly irresistible but she had to resist, because he didn't want her.

"The Blur." She admitted and her heart tripped for an entirely different reason.

"You fell asleep at your desk because of him?" He stood up and shoved his hands in in his pockets, a stormy look on his face. "_Him _?"

"What's it to you?" She ran her hands through her hair, trying to get it into some semblance of order and his face flushed as he followed her actions.

'_His face did _not j_ust flush. You're imagining things.'_

"Lois, you've never even met the guy." He took a deep breath and frowned at her. "All he is, is a voice on the phone. You have no idea who he is, or what he's like."

"He's a hero Clark." Lois stood up and put her hands on her hips. His attitude was getting on her nerves and she needed to put him in his place. "He's dedicated his life to helping the people of Metropolis without asking for anything in return."

"If he's such a hero, why hasn't he met you face to face?" He pulled his hands out of his pockets and folded his arms across his chest, challenging her. "Instead of hiding behind a phone."

Wide chest, trim hips, flat stomach. _Lois!_

"As a matter of fact, I went to meet him." She told him. "But he never made it."

"Was that the reason you left the hospital?" He was really agitated and it was ticking her off. "You were supposed to stay overnight for observation, Lois. Did you forget that you had a concussion, _again _?"

"Very funny." She gave him a humorless smile. "And why do you care anyway?"

"Because you're my friend." His face flushed again and he looked down at the floor. "And I care what happens to you." His eyes came back up and met hers. "I thought you knew that."

_God, he was so handsome._

"Yeah well, if you cared so much about me, why did you decide to go AWOL when Chloe really needed you?" _Stupid puppy dog eyes. _"That psycho medic kills Jimmy and you suddenly decide to leave and do what, find yourself?"

"It was something I needed to do." He was being evasive, again, and she hated that. He'd done it to her the night all hell broke loose and in her worry to find her cousin, he'd shut her down.

What was it that she'd said to him?

'_Another ricochet off the impenetrable force field.'_

When had he become so damn stubborn? And when had it started to matter so much?

"You're supposed to be Chloe's best friend." Lois admonished him, noting that their conversation had begun to attract attention. "And you left her."

"And you left me." He replied quietly and his eyes skittered down again.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind." He shook his head.

"Don't do that." She reached out, grabbed his arm and he flinched at her touch.

_Great. _He couldn't even tolerate her touching him.

"Lane, Kent." Tess's assistant was standing in the doorway. "Miss Mercer wants to see the two of you. _Now._"

'_Tess Mercer can kiss my a-' _The rebellious reply bubbled up in her throat until a firm hand closed around her wrist and the shake of a dark head dissuaded her.

He knew her better than she thought he did.

"We'll be there in a minute." Clark refused to relinquish his hold as he turned toward the impatient assistant. "Lois and I need to finish something."

"She's not going to like it." He gave them a condescending look that made Lois want to smack it off.

"She can wait." Clark wouldn't budge and Lois felt her heart flutter because she'd never seen him so decisive, or resolute. "This can't."

It was a standoff between the two men as each waited for the other to back down. And after a moment, Tess's flunky flashed a look of contempt at the both of them, turned on his heel and headed toward the elevator.

"Clark." She tugged against his hold, but his grip remained firm. "You could lose your job."

"I don't think so." He shook his head and Lois got the oddest feeling that his mind had wandered somewhere else.

"Clark." She addressed him again, with more force. "I'd rather not lose _my _job, again."

"You won't lose your job Lois." His voice was soft as he turned back to face her and when he smiled at her, Lois's knees began to shake. "Tess isn't going to fire the best reporter she's got. Besides, if she tried Oliver would just override her."

"Ollie?"

"Queen Industries has controlling interest in LuthorCorp, which includes _The Daily Planet _." He nodded. "So that means-"

"He's our boss?"

"Not exactly." His eyes moved down and she wondered why until her own eyes followed and she saw that he'd slipped his hand around hers.

How was it that she hadn't even noticed?

It was too much like the night they'd danced at Chloe and Jimmy's wedding and she tugged again; he still wouldn't let go. Lois felt her breath shallow as he ran a thumb across her knuckles and his voice got husky. "Do you ever wonder what might have happened if we'd-"

_Was he having regrets about that? _

"It's a moot point." She wasn't going to let him pull her into a game of 'What If' and cut him off. "Things happened."

"Does it have to be?" He caught her eye again and her knees threatened to give way. "A moot point?"

She felt the tears in her eyes and when she pulled again, he let her go. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and took a short breath. He was not going to do this to her. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not keep the Dragon Lady waiting."

She stepped away from him and walked toward the elevator. When she pressed the call button, Lois suddenly became aware of his body that was so close she could feel his warmth. He wasn't touching her, but she could feel the faint brush of his chest against her back as he breathed. "Lois, I'm sorry."

The doors opened and after she walked in, realized that there was no way that she could ride up to Tess's office with him. So after he'd stepped in behind her, she turned around and stepped out. "I'm taking the stairs."

"Do you know how far that is?" He asked as the doors closed, but didn't stop them.

"A lot shorter than riding up there with you." She whispered as she took in a deep breath; it felt as though she'd just dodged a bullet.

As she took the stairs up to the first floor, Lois wondered what it was that Tess Mercer wanted from them.

All she knew was that it couldn't be good.

**TBC**


	2. Kitten Adoption Fair

_Her hands seemed to know exactly where to go to drive him crazy and ramp up the aching want that was building inside of him._

_He'd never felt anything remotely like what he was feeling at that moment, as he felt her lips moving on his. They were soft and warm and teased him with a promise of something more. And when he would try and deepen their kiss, she would shake her head and laugh softly. _

_He'd never suspected that she could be such a tease or that he could be so aroused by it. Who was he kidding? _

_He never suspected that he could be so aroused by her._

Clark could feel his heart beat furiously in double time. He frowned in confusion because he couldn't figure out exactly when he'd started getting caught in these daydreams.

And it wasn't that they were particularly vivid, but more that he was in an obviously intimate situation with a woman that he couldn't see.

It was worse at night because his senses were heightened and he could almost feel a pair of hands skimming his chest and his shoulders and his arms.

It was pure, blissful torture.

What tortured him even more though, was that he had no idea who she was.

Clark shook his head as he tried to clear faint wisps of the images away when the elevator came to a smooth stop. There was a soft 'ding' just before the doors opened and when they did, Lois was standing on the other side.

How the heck had she gotten up there so fast? "Lois?"

"You didn't seriously think I meant taking the stairs all the way up here, did you?" One of her slender hands rest on a hip and the look she was giving him was saying, _'Oh, Smallville.'_

"Then how-"

"I walked up to the first floor and took the other elevator." Lois explained to him as she reached in and grabbed his sleeve. "Come on, we're late."

She turned on her heel, not bothering to wait for him and walked toward Tess's office. And as he followed behind, took the opportunity to watch the swish of her slightly mussed hair as it brushed against her back which drew his gaze to her trim waist, her long legs and the way her skirt accented her-

_Stop that! _She wants to keep the game on the field remember?

_Face it Clark, you lost your chance; _and the thought of it frustrated him.

It was a frustration that had started after he'd made the decision not to join her at the café for coffee. It was a decision he regretted before he'd even sent her the text that he wouldn't be able to make it, but felt it was the only thing he could do.

The fact was he wanted to protect her; from his secret and from the burden knowing that secret would put on her.

Everyone he knew had been affected in some way or another because they knew about his true origins. And the last thing he wanted was for something to happen to Lois, because she meant so much to him.

He didn't know exactly when, but his feelings for her had changed. They'd snuck up on him so quietly that he didn't fully realize how he felt about her until she'd vanished into thin air and he had no idea where she was.

He'd searched for days and there was no sign of her. He even called her father, who'd been stationed at the Pentagon, but hadn't heard from his daughter. He promised to use every means at his disposal to find her.

He'd held out hope that General Lane would be able to help him, But when he couldn't, Clark lost his will to keep going on as though nothing had changed because _every_thing had changed.

He'd lost the woman he'd fallen in love with and a good friend had been killed.

It was in part, because of that, that Clark had made the decision to give up his humanity. He'd allowed himself to be swayed by others who thought they knew better than he did and in the end Jimmy Olsen had died.

If only he'd stood firm on sending Davis to the Phantom Zone and not let Chloe sway him, Jimmy would still be alive and Lois would too.

That was the conclusion he'd come to about her and it was the last straw that got him to declare that Clark Kent was dead. Because it was Clark Kent who had been responsible for letting two people he cared about, die.

So he'd headed up to the Fortress to fulfill his promise to Jor-El and began his training. And the longer he stayed, immersing himself in his Kryptonian heritage; Clark Kent became a distant memory.

But even as he'd begun to think of himself as Kal-El, son of Lara and Jor-El, the one thought he couldn't shake no matter how hard he tried, was Lois.

Memories of her haunted him at night when he should have been resting, they haunted him as he systematically went through each crystal and learned more about his home world and even when he would patrol the streets of Metropolis at night.

It was on a particularly quiet night that he'd finally given in to the overwhelming urge to go to the _Planet_, though he knew she wouldn't be there.

He'd hidden in the shadows of the darkened basement, watching her desk in the desperate hope that he would see her. And as would always be the case, there would have been a large cup of coffee sitting near her hand, ready to be sipped after which would come the inevitable, 'Crap', because it would still be too hot.

But all he'd seen were two empty desks that were cleared of any personal belongings and he wondered where their things could have been taken.

"Clark, would you snap out of it?" Lois' voice brought him up short. Even with an impatient frown on her face, she was still beautiful and he'd missed her. "You've been like this ever since you came back to the _Planet_."

"I'm sorry Lois, I was just thinking."

"Well stop thinking and start moving." She huffed and he felt his heart pulse. She may have been annoyed with him, but at least she was here, and she was alive.

"I don't appreciate being kept waiting by two cub reporters." They were greeted as Clark walked into the office with Lois leading the way. "Especially those same reporters who left this newspaper without the courtesy of a two-week notice."

"What do you want Tess?" Lois cut to the chase.

"And you wonder why you're still in the basement." Came the mocking response. "Lane, with an attitude like that, _that's_ where you're going to spend the rest of your career."

"I wouldn't bet on it." She shot back. "I earned my way into this job because I'm a good reporter, what did _you_ do?"

"Whether you earned your way into the job is debatable, but rumor has it that you _kept_ it by giving the editor a little personal attention."

Tess was deliberately baiting her and Clark stood next to Lois and brushed his fingers against hers, letting her know she had his support.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" She balked at his touch and he sighed quietly.

_He deserved that. _

"Don't be coy Lois." Tess's voice was smooth and Clark knew she was aware of what he'd just done. "Sleeping with the editor is the oldest ploy in the book."

"Who told you that?" To her credit, Lois wasn't defensive, just irritated.

"Lex compiled dossiers on everyone who ever worked for him." Tess smirked at her. "And _yours_ was quite the interesting read, including your extra curricular activities with Grant Gabriel."

"I never would have taken you for a voyeur." Lois ignored the obvious insinuation and Clark could feel the tension in the room. There'd been a palpable animosity between the two women since Tess had taken over for Lex, but it had intensified since he'd come back to the _Planet_ and he didn't know why. "But I guess when your own life doesn't have a lot going for it; you have to live through other people."

"My life is going just the way I want, thank you." She didn't take the bait. "But I didn't call the two of you up here so that you and I could trade barbs."

"Then why _did _you call us up here?" Lois frowned. "I'm in the middle of a story."

"Not anymore." She answered and picked up a file folder from her desk. "I'm reassigning you."

"You can't do that!" Lois protested. "I still have to interview the mayor."

"I'll be giving that to one of the senior reporters and they'll take care of it." Clark didn't like the look on her face and suddenly had the feeling he wasn't going to like what she had in mind. "I've got something else, for you and Kent."

_He definitely didn't like it._

"Clark?" Her voice pitched up. "Why him?"

"Because I think the two of you are perfect for what I have in mind." Tess elaborated a little more and Clark suddenly felt as though the floor was about to drop from under his feet.

It didn't take long.

"You're going undercover as newlyweds."

_They were toast._


	3. Memories are Made of This

_Newlyweds? _Oh, hell no.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Lois panicked because the idea of being involved in anything remotely resembling a honeymoon was out of the question. _Not with him_.

"I'm perfectly sane Lois." Tess looked too pleased with herself. "But _you _seem to have a problem with this assignment."

"You're pulling me off an interview with the mayor that took me six months to arrange and you want to give it to someone else." She glared at her boss. "And you think I _shouldn't _have a problem with it?"

"Why do you want us to pose as newlyweds?" She could hear the hesitance in Clark's voice and it sounded as though he was as apprehensive as she was.

"You've both been working so hard since you've come back, and I thought you could use a break."

_'Like hell you do.'_

"Lois." She heard Clark's quiet warning to watch it. And as much as she wanted to tell him that she could handle Tess Mercer, she didn't say anything else. "So what is this assignment all about?"

"As much as your partner might think I'm handing you a fluff piece, it's anything but."

"How do you figure that?" Lois wasn't buying it and hastened to add. "And he's _not _my partner."

"The _Regent Hotel_ offers honeymoon packages to newlyweds and gives them a week of spoiling and pampering." She ignored Lois and continued as she handed the folder to Clark. "I want _you _to spend that time taking advantage of everything they have to offer so you can give our readers your honest assessment."

"This is something for the Lifestyle section." Clark's level voice commented as he thumbed through the folder. "We're not Lifestyle reporters."

"That can always be arranged." Lois didn't like the way she was looking at him, like a cat that was after the cream. But Clark either didn't notice or he was ignoring it.

But what she liked even less was how territorial _she_ was feeling toward him and had no doubt Tess sensed it and wanted to exploit it.

"Because if I think that you're not giving this story your full cooperation, I _will_ make sure that you become full-time Lifestyle reporters."

"You can't do that." Lois started to step forward and felt Clark grasp her fingers to stop her.

"Lois." He cautioned again, but she pulled them away and ignored him.

"If you're doing this to get me to quit, it's not happening." Lois frowned. "I was at the _Planet _before you got here and I'll still be here when you've moved on to another shiny toy that you decide you want to play with."

And when Tess looked at Clark again, Lois knew what toy she had in mind. But she couldn't very well tell the other woman to keep her mitts off, _could she _?

"You really do think a lot of yourself, don't you?" She lifted an eyebrow at Lois. "Don't screw this up and I'll think about keeping the mayor's interview for you until you turn in your story."

"I'm not going to hold my breath." She replied.

"I know you don't like me and frankly I don't care." Tess walked to the door and opened it. "Just get the story."

"When do you want us at the hotel?" Clark stayed next to Lois, refusing to take the obvious hint that she wanted them out of her office.

"Saturday afternoon." They were told. "And just so you're aware, no one knows that you're reporters."

_Great. _

"Is there anything else?"

"As a matter of fact." _She didn't like the sound of that. _"Look in that folder and you'll find a few props for the assignment."

Clark glanced at Lois and the look on his face told her that he knew, as well as she, what was in it. He found a small envelope and handed it to her and when she emptied the contents into her palm, there were three rings.

An engagement ring and two wedding rings.

"The reservations have been made for four o'clock Saturday afternoon under your name Kent. That way Lois won't have any trouble remembering."

_'Oh, I'll remember this all right.'_

"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do." Tess pulled the door open wide. "You two can work out the details before Saturday and if you choose to use it, there _will _be a car available."

"You're pulling out all the stops, aren't you?" Lois commented as she put the rings back in the envelope and handed it to Clark, who pocketed it for safe keeping.

"Only the best for our readers, Lane."

'_Yea, right.' _

"We'll get out of your way." Clark put a hand on Lois's elbow and nudged her forward to escort her to the door. "We've got some research to do."

"You do that." She told him as they walked out of Tess's office and the door was closed abruptly behind them.

Clark's hand was still on her elbow and as much as she loved the feel of his hand on her, it didn't belong there and when she pulled away, she heard him sigh.

"Are you all right?" His voice was soft and it was that sound that had always told her that he cared. "I know how hard you worked to get the mayor to talk to you."

"It's not that." _Well, not all of it anyway. _

What Tess had said about Grant Gabriel really rankled. Lois knew that her relationship with Grant had been the subject of a lot of gossip and there had been the assumption that they'd slept together.

There was no denying that she'd been hurting after her break up with Ollie. And it would have been too easy to get into something physical with Grant, but something had always held her back.

Lois had never been a rebound kind of girl and as tempting as it may have been; she wouldn't have slept with someone she didn't really know.

Her relationship with Ollie had taught her that hard lesson.

"Then what is it?" He took her elbow again and turned her to face him.

"I didn't sleep with him." She felt her face warm with embarrassment. But for some reason it was something that she wanted Clark to be clear about and at his look of confusion she elaborated. "Grant."

His face flushed at her words. "I hadn't realized that you were close enough to him to consider it."

"I never would have said anything-" And she wasn't quite sure why she was saying anything now. "But when Tess mentioned the dossier, I felt the need to defend myself."

"You never need to defend yourself to me Lois." A slow smile spread across his face and when he squeezed her elbow, her heart tripped. "Ever."

"I know what some of them still think of me." She looked into his eyes and couldn't help but realize that it was what _he _thought of her that was more important.

"It doesn't matter Lois." He shook his head and then inexplicably leaned in toward her and replied quietly near her ear. "It only matters what _you _think of you." He stepped back and her knees were shaking. "Okay?"

The sincerity on his face warmed her heart and she had the irresistible urge to kiss him, but she resisted.

"Let's get back downstairs, we've got a honeymoon to get ready for." Clark laughed softly.

He was far too amused with the situation for her liking.

"Smallville." She objected and it only made him laugh more.

"I suppose this means you're taking the stairs?" His eyes sparkled with humor and Lois tried not to sigh as he pushed the call button.

_He really did have beautiful eyes. _

"I could just take the other elevator." She threatened and leaned toward the adjoining call button, but Clark stopped her with a gentle hand.

"Please ride back down with me." He caught her eye again and was completely serious. "I'd consider it a personal favor."

_Should I, or shouldn't I? _

"If I do, you realize this means you owe me." Lois pulled her hand back from his and he frowned, but recovered so quickly that she wondered if she'd actually seen it.

"And I'm sure that you'll remind me, constantly." He smiled again.

"Bet on it." She promised him as she heard the 'ding' that indicated the car was coming to a stop and then the doors opened.

He waited for her to step on and followed behind. And as the doors closed, kept a comfortable distance between them, at least until he made an unexpected suggestion. "Why don't you come out to the farm for dinner?"

It sounded so casual and Lois suspected that he didn't realize what he was saying.

"It seems to me that if we're spending our honeymoon at the _Regent_, we should take some time and look over what they're offering."

Lois' heart tripped again. "It's not _our _honeymoon, Smallville."

"Well no." She sensed that he was looking at her. "But since we're supposed to _be _on a honeymoon, it makes sense that we would have gone over all the information. Don't you think?"

What was it about his eyes that kept drawing her to them? Because she found herself doing just that and swallowed reflexively. "I suppose."

"Lois, you don't really want to end up in Lifestyles, do you?" The question was innocent enough.

"I'd quit before I'd let that happen." Lois glared at him. "And that's exactly what she wants me to do Clark. She wants me to quit."

"Why would she want that?" He frowned at her. "You're the best reporter she's got."

She'd heard that before.

'_Lois you're a great reporter, all on your own.' _The Blur had told her much the same thing; the first time she'd talked to him. _'You don't need a hero or some gimmick to make a headline.' _

Lois _still _hadn't seen him.

He hadn't shown up at the phone booth and she'd worried that something had happened to him. But when she realized that she'd been a few weeks late, her head started to throb.

How was that possible?

Of course, she still couldn't quite figure out how she ended up in the hospital because the last thing she remembered was getting into a knock down, drag out with Tess Mercer. And now Tess had her sights set on Clark.

_He_ may not have been aware of it, but Lois was; she made sure of that.

"Lois." She felt his hand on her arm and reflexively pulled back. "So how about it?"

"What?"

He gave her an indulgent look because he knew she hadn't been listening. "Dinner? Farm? What do you say?"

She didn't know _what _to say.

"You know-" He seemed to decide and try a different tack as he dropped his hand. "If Mom knew that you weren't eating properly, she'd really be worried."

_'That's it Smallville, drag your mother into this.'_

"I think your mom has more important things to worry about than what I'm eating." Lois sighed.

"Lois, nothing is more important to her than you." He admitted and then grinned at her. "Except me."

Lois couldn't deny it, as much as she wanted to; but she liked this Clark Kent. He'd kept her at arms length for so long after he'd come back. But once he'd begun to thaw out and started bantering with her again, some of it had taken on a playful edge that she'd never gotten to see much of before; and she liked it.

A lot.

"You're doing it again." He laughed softly and again his fingers were holding her arm. Her heart started to flutter when they began to softly caress the skin just above her elbow, but this time, she didn't have the will to pull out of his gentle grasp. He seemed to notice that because his face flushed, just before he cleared his throat. "Dinner?"

"I suppose you're cooking?" It didn't escape her notice that he was slowly easing her toward him and that she was letting him.

"That's probably best Lois." He smiled and couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. "If _you _cook, we'll both end up in the hospital."

"And who's to say we won't if _you _do?" Stop it with the breathy voice Lois.

"Mom taught me how to cook." He dropped his gaze to her lips and kept drawing her closer as _his _voice got increasingly husky. "And I never heard you complain about anything she ever made."

"Because I never had anything to complain about." It was getting extremely difficult to breathe as his other hand caught her around her waist and her hands landed on his chest. "I hope you're not going to disappoint me."

"Not if I can help it." He whispered and as he leaned in Lois knew she should stop him, but for the life of her, she didn't want to. Her eyes closed just before Clark pressed his lips softly to hers, slowly merging his warmth with hers and she felt her stomach clench at the heat and the softness of it.

_Oh, god. _

He was testing the water, to see if she would be receptive to his touch, Lois was sure of it. But before her arms had the misguided notion to curl around his neck and let him know she was the elevator came to a stop, dipped softly and then the doors slowly opened.

_What in the hell just happened? _Lois wondered as she opened her eyes, but couldn't look at him as she pushed him back and stepped away, rushing toward her desk.

"If I come for dinner, that can't happen again." She couldn't stop shaking as she swallowed hard and had to tamp down the disappointment that it hadn't gone any farther.

What she didn't expect to see was a look of complete frustration on his face as he slapped the folder down on his desk and sighed. "Why not?"

"Smallville." _'Promise me.' _

_'I can't do that.'_ His look told her and she was at a total loss as to why he would look at her that way, let alone want to kiss her.

He abruptly pulled his jacket from the back of his chair and scooped up the folder. "If you don't need me for anything, I'm going home. Dinner will be ready about six if you still want to come."

"Clark." She watched him walk out of the basement and head for the stairs. She even went so far as to follow his movements up to the main floor and then he was gone.

_Damn. _Mr. Distant was back.

She let out a sigh of her own and sat down, wondering why she still let him affect her the way he did. _You're in love with him that's why. _

She opened the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out her purse, setting it down next to her computer before she shut it down.

Why did she continue to put herself through this? _Why do you think?_

She started when her desk phone rang suddenly and she picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

'_Miss Lane.' _

It was him.


	4. Bringing My Baby Back Home

It had never happened before.

_Ever._

But before he was even half way home, Clark had to stop because he was winded. And he knew why.

The thought of Lois in his arms.

It was all he could think about as he walked away from her, standing in the doorway of the basement calling after him. The sound of it held a plea for him to stop, but if he'd listened to it and gone back he would have kissed her senseless.

He knew that as sure as he was standing on the side of the road, his hands tingling with the memory of holding her body so close to his and fingering the softness of her hair as her hands were fisted against his chest.

Because even as close as they were, she never relaxed.

She held herself back from answering his kiss and while he understood why, it still left him frustrated. He'd made so many mistakes with her and he only wanted the chance to make it right; to prove to her that he _was_ a man she could love.

Because she was the woman _he_ loved.

But that same woman seemed to have moved on and set her sights on someone else and that frustrated him too.

She'd shut him down when it came to talking about anything personal and it surprised him that she mentioned Grant Gabriel. But it surprised him even more that his opinion of her was so important and he decided to take the chance at a kiss.

Her answer to that was to shut him down again and he understood that too.

But while she refused to talk about anything personal, she didn't seem to have any problem talking about the Blur. He was all she'd talked about since he'd returned to the _Planet_; and he was getting tired of it.

It irritated him how she constantly talked about how heroic he was and how Metropolis was lucky to have such a man keeping them safe. Sure, Bruno Manheim was behind bars, but there were plenty more like him on the streets of Metropolis trying to pick up the slack; and the Blur was there to stop them.

And _Lois_ was there to recount the smallest detail to him.

How was it that she could find herself so attracted to someone that she'd never seen? He was only a voice on the phone.

'_She just doesn't know that it's _your _voice.' _Clark rolled his eyes at the thought and began to rethink the wisdom of having called her in the first place. He'd only done it because she'd concocted a hair-brained scheme to get an interview with the Red Blue Blur and nearly got herself killed trying to protect _him_.

The one plus to the whole Stiletto incident, however, was getting to see her in the costume she'd cooked up. He never would have admitted to anyone, least of all Lois, but he'd had dreams of her wearing it.

'_I didn't know there was room for introspection underneath that costume.' _He'd teased her about it and reliably she retaliated by taking the second of two bear claws she'd brought for him the morning after he'd taken the bullet for her.

But the payoff was the way she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of him. And while he didn't appreciate it the way he should of at the time, that was the look that had haunted him the most.

He sighed as he continued to walk and wondered how in the heck he was going to get through a whole week of pretending to be her husband. And while he thought about the mess he'd gotten himself into with her as the Red Blue Blur, there was still that one voice he wanted to hear.

He hadn't called her as the Blur since he'd come back and Lois had tried to play it off as no big deal, but he could see how much it bothered her.

And as irritated as he was that she seemed more willing to talk to the Blur than him, he found himself pulling his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, attaching the voice modulator and calling Lois. _You're an idiot._

'_Hello?'_

"Miss Lane."

'_It's you.' _It was a breathy sound and in spite of the fact that it wasn't meant for him, he smiled. _'I thought you'd forgotten about me.' _And thenhe heard her voice catch in embarrassment. _'I didn't mean it that way.'_

"You're a hard woman to forget, Lois." Wasn't _that_ the truth.

'_Oh.' _He'd caught her off guard. _'So where have you been, I mean other than watching out for Metropolis? I know that things got a little crazy and I'm really sorry that I didn't get your letter published.'_ He could hear the regret even as she babbled. _''But then I guess since nothing happened to you it doesn't really matter.'_

"It's all right Lois. I'm just glad there wasn't any reason for you to publish it."

'_Me too.' _She told him. _'I don't know what Metropolis would have done if anything had happened to you.' _

"Well that's not something you need to worry about because I'm not going anywhere."

'_That's good to know.' _And she sighed. _'I just wish someone _else_ had had that attitude.'_

"Someone else?" Was she talking about _him_?

'_It's not important.' _He could almost see Lois shaking her head. _'Besides, he's back now and I don't think he's going to go AWOL again.'_

Should he do it?

"AWOL?"

'_Smallville has a way of disappearing and not telling anyone.' _She commented. _'But he's like a homing pigeon and always comes back to m-'_ Lois stopped herself short and finished with _' Smallville.'_

"He must have a reason." He asked and couldn't help but wonder if she'd been about to say 'me'.

'_He has this compulsive need to bale some hay everyday.' _She quipped. _'You know what they say, you can't take the farm boy out of the man.' _She paused. _'Or something like that.' _

"Do you really believe that?" _Does the phrase 'skating on thin ice' mean anything to you? _

But he _had_ to know.

'_You don't understand, Smallville is so-' _Lois couldn't seem to complete her thought.

"Smallville."

'_Yeah.' _

He remembered having a similar conversation with Chloe about Lois.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

'_I don't know.' _At least she was honest. _'But you know what? I don't really want to talk about him anymore.'_

"That's all right, we don't have to." He decided not to push it and knew it was time to go. "I'm sorry Lois, but I do need to get going."

'_It's all right.' _She assured him. '_You've got more important things to do than talk to me.'_

"Nothing is more important than that."

He heard the click of the line as Lois hung up and Clark closed his phone. _What was he doing?_

He tucked it back in his pocket and decided against super speed, instead doing something he rarely did anymore; he walked home. And before he reached the fence that ran the perimeter of the house, he saw Oliver's car parked behind his truck.

He was another one who'd gone AWOL after Jimmy died and it worried Clark how the younger man's death had affected him.

He'd changed after he'd found out that Lionel Luthor had been responsible for the deaths of his parents. And his friendship with Clark had changed because he'd known about it and not told Oliver.

Jimmy dying just compounded it.

Clark walked up the path to the front porch and his friend was sitting on the swing swaying back and forth. He had an arm slung casually across the back, but Clark could see the dark shadows under his eyes. They betrayed a man who hadn't been getting much sleep and who was probably drinking more than he should.

"Clark." Oliver gave him a short nod.

"Oliver." He answered the same way and stepped up on the porch. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"The peace and quiet." Oliver answered and Clark frowned.

"You hate peace and quiet."

"I don't hate it Farm boy; I'm just prefer city noises."

_Farm boy? _The usual moniker was Boy Scout.

"They _do_ have their own appeal." Clark understood what he was saying because he'd gotten used to the sounds of the city as well. "And it makes me appreciate the solitude of this place even more."

"How much solitude are we talking about?" He stood up as Clark opened the front door and walked into the house, dropping his jacket, tie and the folder on the back of the couch. He pulled the envelope with the rings out of his pocket and set it on top.

"It's just Shelby and me." Why was he getting the feeling Oliver was fishing for information?

"You're bringing your work home now?" He inclined his head toward the folder and Clark glanced at it.

"That's for a story Tess assigned to us."

"Us. You mean Lois."

Clark nodded. _What was he after?_ "She's coming for dinner so we can go over the information."

"You mind?" Oliver asked him, not waiting for Clark to say that it was all right before he picked up the envelope. He eyed it for a moment before he turned it over and emptied the contents into his hand, glancing up with surprise. "Are these what I think they are?"

"They're for our cover."

"Wedding rings?"

"Tess is sending us undercover as newlyweds." And to his chagrin he felt his face flush.

"And it doesn't look like you mind that too much." Oliver didn't look too pleased with the situation. "Did it ever occur to you that _she_ might?"

"Of course she minds." Clark told him and wished he didn't feel so disappointed. "Lois thinks Tess is doing this to get her to quit."

"Do you think she would do that?"

_He honestly didn't know. _"They've never gotten along and it seems to have gotten worse since Lois got back to the _Planet_."

"Does Tess have it in for her?"

"I think they're both strong women who are used to getting what they want."

"You're not answering my question Clark." He growled. "Does she have it in for Lois?"

"Lois seems to think so, so she probably does."

"Why can't you just answer me?" Oliver was getting really agitated and Clark couldn't figure out why. And then he shoved him. "_Why_ can't you just stand up for Lois without any question?"

"And why do you have to be such a jackass?" An irritated voice asked from the front doorway. "He stands up for me more than you know Ollie. Not that it's any of _your_ business."

'_I'll always stand up for you Lois.' _He turned to face her and she looked as annoyed as she sounded, her hands planted on her hips.

_How long had she been standing there?_

"Did you know about these?" Oliver held out his palm and showed her the rings.

"We wouldn't be too convincing as a married couple if we weren't wearing rings." She answered and then frowned at him. "I knew about them, she made sure of it."

"Lois, does she have it in for you?"

"Of course she does." Lois looked incredulous. "Why do you think she gave us this story?"

"Then why didn't he just say that?"

"Because Smallville always tries to see the best in people, even if it _is_ Tess Mercer." She dropped her hands, walked into the living room and stopped in front of him.

"Lois."

"Don't take it personally Clark." She patted his chest and the warmth of her touch branded him like an iron. "That actually _was _a compliment."

"A back handed one." He replied and found himself smiling at her. "You're very good at that Lois."

"I'm very good at a _lot_ of things." She tossed over her shoulder when she turned back around and grabbed a small duffle bag she'd put near the front door. "Now if you'll be good and start dinner, I'm going upstairs for a quick shower." She picked up the bag and headed for the stairs. "You boys play nice now."

Clark watched her go, marveling at the ease in which she'd just invited herself upstairs.

'_It's fine really. I'm just going to check into a motel and when the money runs out I can always sleep in my car. Backseat's not too bad if you bend your knees and avoid the drive train and-'_

'_Lois.' She wasn't serious, was she?_

'_And then, you know, if I have to sell my car for food that's okay too. I've always dreamed of being a hobo, riding the rails, cooking beans over roadside fires-'_

_She waited for him expectantly; for the inevitable invitation she knew he'd extend to her._

'_If you want, I guess you can stay with us.'_

'_You're a lifesaver. God am I in need of a hot shower.' She started down the stairs and then turned to smile at him. 'Don't worry Smallville. I'll try to keep it under a half hour.'_

_He watched her continue down the stairs and couldn't help but wonder- _

'_What just happened?'_

"She seems to be at home here." Oliver remarked and brought Clark up short.

"She did live here, twice." He felt the need to point it out. "And I think Mom would be disappointed if Lois didn't feel that she could."

"Just how at home would you _like_ her to be Clark?" The pointed question got his attention away from the staircase and back on Oliver.

"As at home as she wants to be." Came his honest response and the other man stepped back in surprise.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Oliver's face paled, just a little. "After all of this time, you've actually fallen for her."

He wasn't about to say anything.

"Does Lois know about that?" Oliver persisted and Clark still said nothing because it didn't matter how he felt about her; she didn't feel that way about _him_. "Well since you won't tell me anything, I think I should give you fair warning. I want another shot with her."

"What?" It was Clark's turn to be surprised.

"Since you're too dense to go for what's right in front of you, I think that those of us who were dense enough to let her go should get another chance."

Clark he felt his stomach drop.

He didn't stand a chance, not against someone like Oliver Queen.

"Don't you think Lois should have something to say about that?" The words tumbled out before he had the opportunity to think about them.

"I don't think she'll object." And for the first time since he'd arrived, Oliver smiled. It was that cocky smile which had always annoyed him.

"Maybe you don't know Lois as well as you think you do."

"Or maybe I know her better." The smile on his face changed to one of pure arrogance and Clark didn't like it. "_I've _slept with her, so I think that gives me a slight edge over you."

He never would have believed that Oliver could deliver such a low blow and he clenched his fists to keep from punching the arrogance off of his face. "And look how that turned out."

Clark hadn't intended the remark to be unkind; he was just stating a fact. But it obviously struck a nerve with Oliver because he balled up his fist, and as he took a swing Clark grabbed it. "I really don't think you want to do that."

"The hell I don't."

"And end up with a broken hand?" He reasoned.

"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you?" Oliver pulled his hand out of Clark's grasp and stepped back. "Show me up with strength I can only dream about."

"Oliver, don't be ridiculous." Clark frowned in confusion because he didn't know why Oliver was so angry.

"You had a tailor made moment to show her how you felt and you let it slip through your fingers."

'_I know.' _

Maybe _that_ was the reason, but why?

"Why didn't you take it man?" He turned Clark's hand over and dropped the rings into his open palm. "She would have been yours."

_Lois?_

"But instead, you had to take a damn trip down memory lane."

"And look how that turned out." He turned the comment on himself and sighed because he knew that he'd let the ghost of an old love overshadow the potential for a new one.

A more fulfilling one.

He believed that he would finally be able share his life with someone because Lana ended up with the same abilities that he had. But in the end, she wanted the power suit that gave her those abilities more than she wanted him and had left Smallville.

He'd told himself for awhile that she _had_ to because the Kryptonite she'd absorbed from the bomb kept her from being near him. But if that were really true, why hadn't he tried to find a way to neutralize the effects, the way he'd tried to find a cure when she'd been in the Brainiac induced coma, so she could stay?

Why had he let her leave if he loved her so much?

Instead, he'd accepted the situation, let her go and resumed his activities as the Red Blue Blur. He hadn't realized at the time that with Lana back in Smallville, the Blur hadn't been doing his job the way he should and with her gone, he needed to rectify the situation.

So between that and honing his skills as a reporter, the pain he felt gradually ebbed. But with the added fallout from Davis Bloom and Doomsday, it left him with a deep distrust of his own feelings, with three notable exceptions.

His mother, Jimmy and most importantly, Lois.

"So how long is this story supposed to take?" Oliver's voice made him start.

"We'll be there for a week." Clark closed his fingers around the rings.

"Then that's all the time I'll give you." He walked toward the front door and turned back around. "Because after that, it's my turn."

"Lois isn't a prize to be won Oliver." Clark told him. "And I'm not going to treat her like it."

"I never should have let her go." There was real regret on his face. "I've made so many mistakes and that was the biggest."

"If Lois wants to give you a second chance, she will." _It would serve him right if she did. _"But that has to be her decision, not yours."

"You wouldn't mind?"

_Of course he'd mind, but- _

"If being with you is what will make her happy, I'm not going to stand in her way. Because if Lois is happy, that makes me happy."

"That's very big of you Clark. I'm not sure I'd be so understanding."

"You don't know me very well then, do you?" He replied quietly. "Lois's happiness means everything to me."

"And me."

"Then please treat her like it." Clark implored, his heart aching at the lost opportunity. So many opportunities, he could see that now. "If you're serious about wanting a second chance then she needs to come first in your life, before Queen industries and Green Arrow."

"Green Arrow won't be a problem."

He didn't like the finality of that statement, but didn't hesitate to give Oliver a warning of his own just the same. "Oliver, if you hurt her you _will_ answer to me."

It wasn't an idle threat; it was a promise.

"I won't." He turned back for the door and stepped outside, closing it behind him.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself quietly as he headed for the stairs and started up so he could go to his room and change.

What he didn't expect to see when he got to the second floor landing was Lois coming out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel. She was drying her hair with another towel and then he heard the sudden acceleration of her heart rate as she stopped to stare at him as her face went crimson.

His own heart was fluttering furiously as he got a look at her damp hair, bare arms and incredibly long legs.

_Had they always been that long?_

She seemed to gather her senses because without a word to him she ducked into his mother's room and slammed the door.

It was going to be a long evening.


	5. What the Heart Wants

She didn't know what had possessed her to do it.

Maybe part of her just wanted things to go back to the way they'd been before; he annoyed _her_ and she needled _him_. It was a perfect relationship because they'd never allowed the other to get too close.

_Come on Lois, you know that's not true._

In spite of all their talk early on about not being friends, Clark had turned out to be a guy she knew she could count on. And he'd always been there for her, whether she wanted him to be or not.

After she'd broken up with Ollie for good, she was glad he was there to help her through it by giving her one of his broad shoulders to cry on, because she needed it.

'_Lois, just because someone's life has great responsibility, doesn't mean your life has to take second place." He tried to reassure her._

'_Of course it does Clark.' She shook her head in disbelief at what he was saying. 'Can you imagine what it would be like to look into somebody's eyes and know that their destiny is _so_ much greater than yours-' She felt her breath catch. 'that you will never compete. You will _always_ be left behind.'_

'_That would be hard for anyone, but-'_

'_No. I can't be left behind one more time.' She tried to find the words to explain what she was feeling and trying not to cry, not in front of _him_. 'You know, where Ollie's life is going there's not room for me in it. And I know he'd never admit that, so-' She shrugged her shoulders in defeat. 'I had to. I just, um, I can't face another heartbreak down the road.'_

_His eyes were filled with concern and seemed to sense that she didn't want to talk about it anymore when he pulled her gently into his arms. He began to run a hand up and down her back to comfort her, to let her know he was there for her. _

_But Lois being Lois, she couldn't let it go at that. And as a tear rolled down her cheek, she smiled because she knew that she wasn't alone. 'Besides, you know why settle for hot, rich and famous when I can hang out with you?' _

It was from that quiet act of caring and compassion that Lois reluctantly began to look at him differently. Not only did she have to admit how much his friendship and support mean to her, but she also had to finally acknowledge to herself how handsome he really was.

A girl would have to be blind not to notice it, and Lois Lane was not blind.

But he'd only had eyes for Lana and Chloe only had eyes for him. It was what had bothered her so much when her baby cousin began dating Jimmy. Chloe loved him, Lois had never doubted it, but she never felt that Chloe was _in_ love with him.

There was a weird tether that kept her close to Clark and she'd always sensed a faint vibe in Chloe that said 'Unrequited Love'.

Lois had never said anything of course, but it seemed to be at the root of her problems with Jimmy. That is, until Davis Bloome arrived on the scene.

'Tall, dark and scary' was how she'd described him to her cousin when he'd tried repeatedly to get a hold of her on her wedding day. And her fears were confirmed when Chloe told her that he'd been responsible for Jimmy's death.

But Davis was dead too, so he'd been paid back in full for what he'd done to someone Lois really cared about.

Jimmy may have been a little goofy and had a love for old movies that she didn't understand, but he'd been a really good guy; and he loved Chloe. It pained her to think that her cousin didn't really appreciate that until she'd lost him.

But at the moment, there _she_ was.

Lois had her back pressed against the door of Mrs. Kent's bedroom, her heart beating like a jackhammer. It had never occurred to her that Clark would come upstairs and mentally kicked herself at the oversight.

The way his eyes traveled so slowly up and down her towel clad body as they stood there facing each other made her flush. He'd never looked at her that way before, not even that time when he'd seen her naked in her bathroom.

_That_ look was more like a deer caught in the headlights, he was so stunned.

The look she got from him just a few minutes before was something she couldn't put a name to. There was appreciation for what he saw; there was longing and maybe just a little bit of lust.

Even _that _however was tempered with something else too, but she didn't want to consider what it might be. She _couldn't_ consider it because Lana still had his heart and it was something that Lois had come to accept.

Or at least, she thought she had.

She couldn't believe she'd gotten herself into another situation where she'd fallen for someone who wasn't available. With Ollie, it had been Green Arrow and with Clark, it was the ghost of an old girlfriend. An old girlfriend who was everything Lois wasn't. Petite, soft-spoken and cute as a button, no wonder he was still hung up on her.

She was startled out of her musings with the sudden feel of a soft knock on the door and there was only one person it could be.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you Lois." She heard Clark's voice. "I should have realized that you'd still be in the shower."

"Well technically, I wasn't." Lois replied because she knew he'd expect it. "If I _were_, we wouldn't have had that little run in."

"Lois."

"What would have been _really_ embarrassing is if you'd walked in on me in the bathroom."

"And it would have served you right." He laughed softly and his voice was just on the other side of the door. "After all-"

"You're never going to forget that, are you?" She knew _she_ wouldn't.

"Well it's not every day that a girl you hardly know walks into your bathroom while you're taking a shower." He laughed again and then her heart hitched when he continued. "And I thought that shirt looked a lot better on you."

_Really?_

And before she could think about what it was she was about to say, Lois blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "And you didn't look too bad in that towel, either."

Dead silence.

_Good one, Lois. _She closed her eyes in embarrassment and wondered how she was going to face him when she got back downstairs.

"I never knew that." He finally said and it sounded like he had to clear his throat to get the words out. "Have you ever noticed how that seems to happen to us?"

"What's that?"

"Since the night we met, we've seen each other naked, we've seen each other in a towel and we've made each other crazy with a squeaky chair." And again he laughed. "Given our history, it makes me wonder what could be next."

"I guess we'll know when it happens." Lois told him and found that she was smiling. She liked the fact that they had a mutual history that let them tease each other the way they did. She was on a level playing field with him that she'd never had with anyone else and it's what had made their friendship so enduring.

They always played fair; well, in their own way.

"I'm going to change and then go back downstairs to start dinner." He told her. "Once you get dressed, come on down and you can give me a hand."

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" _Lois, you're still smiling. _

"I'll make sure you don't put us in the hospital Lois." It was quiet and she was tempted to open the door. _Was he still there? _"Lois?"

_He was._

"Yeah?"

"You don't look so bad in a towel yourself." He admitted to her before she heard his footsteps quickly move away and down the hall toward his room.

_He did _not_ just say that. _

Lois felt her face burn with a blush, _again_, and her heart began to flutter as she braced herself against the door. She waited for the shaking in her knees to stop before she trusted them to get her over to Mrs. Kent's bed.

She dressed in the blouse and jeans she'd laid out before she went into the bathroom and then sat on the edge of the bed, brushing the tangles out of her hair before it completely dried. And as she did that, she had the overwhelming urge to talk to Clark's mother.

At his insistence, Lois had called Mrs. Kent to assure her that she was all right when she'd been released from the hospital and they'd talked at least once a week since then.

To say that she'd been worried when her children disappeared was an understatement. And those were the exact words Mrs. Kent had used in that first conversation they'd had.

It was hard to believe that she thought of Lois as a daughter and at the time she couldn't help but wonder what Clark's mother thought of Lana.

She fished her cell phone out of her purse and punched in the number three on her speed dial. Chloe and Clark were number one and two.

Mrs. Kent had given her a direct line to her senate office after she'd gone back to Washington and while it _was_ already seven-thirty back there, Lois knew she'd still be working. Clark's mother was usually one of the last out of the building every evening.

She'd confessed to Lois in their last phone call that she didn't mind because it was preferable to going home to an empty house. It was safe to say that Mrs. Kent sounded homesick and Lois couldn't help but wonder if she was going to run for her senate seat when her current term expired.

It was selfish of her to think it, but Lois really wanted her back in Kansas, in Smallville. Mrs. Kent was the closest thing she'd had to a mother since her own mother died and the daughter in her wanted her mother home.

'_Senator Kent.' _Lois smiled at the no-nonsense tone in her voice. She'd heard it directed at Clark often enough, and herself if she were going to be completely honest.

"Hi Mrs. Kent." She put the brush down on the bed and scoot back against the headboard.

'_Lois, honey.' _It was obvious that she was happy to hear Lois's voice._ 'How are you?' _

"I'm fine. Just getting ready to go downstairs and help Clark with dinner."

'_You're at the farm.' _She sounded surprised. _'How did my son manage to lure you away from the Daily Planet's basement?'_

"A home cooked meal, that's how." She smiled. "We've been assigned a story to work on together, so we're going to go over all the information."

'_While you eat?' _There was a tone of disapproval. _'Honey, Clark was never allowed to do his homework during dinner.'_ And then there was a pause. _'Never mind. You're not children anymore and I shouldn't be telling you what you can or can't do.'_

"It's still your house Mrs. Kent." Lois told her.

'_But I'm not living there, Clark is.' _She sighed. _'And if the two of you decide that you want to work on your story while you eat, I can't tell you any different. So what _is_ this story you're working on?'_

_Damn. _She should have known Mrs. Kent would ask.

"It's a fluff piece." Lois tried to waive her off.

'_And?' _

"We're going undercover." She rolled her eyes.

'_Lois, if you don't want to tell me, then just say so.' _She sounded far too amused with Lois' stalling tactics. _'Because it's obviously something you don't want me to know.'_

_Just tell her. _"We have to pose as newlyweds."

Lois didn't hear anything and wondered what she was thinking.

'_Oh.' _If she didn't know better, she'd swear Mrs. Kent was laughing. _''And how does Clark feel about that?'_

"You know your son, he doesn't argue. He just takes it."

'_Except when it comes to you.' _She rightly pointed out. _'So what is this story all about?'_

"We have to do a review on what the _Regent Hotel_ has to offer honeymooners. Tess calls it a public service to the _Planet_'s readers."

'_What do _you_ call it?' _

"A waste of my time." She sighed.

'_Lois, I know I'm probably poking my nose in where it doesn't belong, but this could be a good thing; for you _and_ Clark.' _

"Smallville?"

'_Yes honey, your Smallville.' _Came the gentle reply.

"He's not _mine_, Mrs. Kent." Her hands started to shake as she held the cell phone to her ear.

'_Then maybe it's time you did something about that.' _She suggested. _'You may not believe it, but his heart _is_ ready for you; for the love you want to give him.'_

"Love?" How could she possibly know?

'_Don't be coy with me, Lois.' _Mrs. Kent chided her. _'If the two of you want to dance around each other and refuse to admit there's something between you, that's your business. But I can tell you that love is a precious commodity that shouldn't be wasted; not for a second.'_

"He doesn't love me." Lois sighed as she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears she felt coming. "He loves her."

'_He doesn't love her Lois, not anymore. And the only way he's going to be able to show you how he _does_ feel is for you to give him the chance.' _She could almost feel the reassuring touch of Mrs. Kent's hand stroking her hair. _'I've never heard him talk about you the way he has in the last few months and I think it's safe to say that he's just as unsure how you feel about him.'_

"What makes you think we feel anything for _any_one?" That's it Lois,_ deflect._

'_It's not just anyone I'm talking about and you know that.' _She laughed softly. _'I'm talking about two stubborn kids who refuse to see what's right in front of them. And if they continue to refuse it, they'll never get to find out what real happiness is with that one special person.'_

"Clark."

'_I think it's been Clark for a long time.' _She said. _'And I think it's been you for him for awhile now too. But there's only one way you're to know for sure.'_

"I can't afford to be wrong about him." Lois stated firmly and brushed at an errant tear that had leaked out. "I can't go through that again."

'_Oh, honey.' _Clark's mother didn't seem to know how to answer that. _'I'm sorry, I suddenly feel like I'm pushing you into something you don't want.'_

"It's not that." Lois shook her head. "I just don't think it's what _he_ wants."

'_I understand what you're feeling.' _Her voice soothed Lois, as it always did. _'You don't want to take another chance with someone because you're afraid of getting your heart broken again.' _There was a pause as though she was considering her words. _'Lois, he feels that too. The way his relationship with Lana ended left him unwilling to trust his own feelings and _I_ believe you're the only one who can get him to trust them again.'_

"You sound so sure about that."

'_Call it mothers intuition.' _She chuckled. _'Well, I think I've given you enough to think about, so I'm going to let you go.'_

"No!"

'_Lois, you've got better things to do then talk to me.' _

"No I don't!"

'_It's only dinner, not a date.' _She placated her. _'I think you can handle that.' _

All Lois could do was sigh.

'_Trust your heart Lois, and trust his. I'll talk to you soon.'_

"Wait!" She called as Mrs. Kent hung up and Lois felt so alone as she closed her phone and dropped it on the bed. _Crap._

And then she did the one thing she always hated to do, she cried. She put her head down on her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

It was the only thing she could do because she didn't know what else _to_ do.

"Lois?" It was the one voice she didn't want to hear, but couldn't help be glad was there. She felt the bed dip as he sat down and her heart tripped because he was too close. He was even closer when he grasped her elbow and rubbed the skin softly with his thumb. "Are you all right?"

"I just miss your mom." She sniffed and couldn't find the strength to pull out of his gentle hold.

"So do I Lois." He admitted. "Is that who you were talking to?"

"You heard?" _Great, _that was all she needed.

"I just heard your voice, I didn't know it was Mom." His touch was sending goose bumps up her arms and she was having a hard time catching her breath. "You're usually smiling after you talk to her."

"Not this time." _'Smallville, please go away.' _

'_I can't, I'm worried about you.' _His touch told her. "Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure?" He wouldn't let it go. _Typical._

"Clark." She lifted her head and looked up at him, seeing the concern on his face. He reached over with his free hand and brushed at the tears on her cheeks. And for the second time that early evening, Lois acted without thinking when she leaned forward and got her arms around his neck.

It was the totally wrong thing to do, and she knew that. But when she felt his arms close around her waist and pull her close against him, she knew she didn't want to be anywhere else.

His lips brushed against her hair and it was an experience like no other as she felt the strong beat of his heart against her chest and he whispered her name. "Lois."

_Don't think about it Lois, just go with it. _Her heart implored and for better or for worse, she decided to do just that when she buried her face in his neck and his breath caught.

_He smelled so good. _

He was warm and solid and he held her as though she meant the world to him.

_If only she did._

He seemed to hesitate for just a moment, as though he was thinking about something, about _doing_ something. "Lois, I need you to look at me."

"Why?" She breathed against his skin, sensing what it was he wanted from her and felt him shiver.

"Please, just do it." He was practically begging and Lois never thought she'd hear it. Or _want_ to hear it, for that matter. "Please."

"I can't." She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because you want to kiss me." _Did that sound as awful as she thought it did? _

"Well- I won't if you don't want me to." He sounded so hurt and it wasn't something she'd expected. "But I'd really like to."

"I'm not Lana." The words were out before she could think about their impact and stop them. And without warning, the warmth of his arms around her cooled as he moved her away and got up off the bed, walking to the door.

He kept his back to her and she could see the tension in his shoulders before he turned his head enough so that she could see his frown. "And you think I don't know that?"

"Clark." Lois sighed because she'd hurt him without meaning to and felt guilty that she had. _He didn't deserve that. _"I'm sorry."

"I'm not." He turned and faced her with a look of determination, as though he wanted her to understand something. "I'm not sorry you're not Lana. I'm not sorry she's gone and I'm not sorry that you're you."

"What?" She hadn't expected that.

"And I know you don't like the idea of having to do this story with me, but _I_ do because it means that we get to spend time together." He swallowed hard and his face flushed as he walked back toward her. "Lois, in case you hadn't noticed I like being with you. I like talking with you and working with you and I like that fact that we throw our past up at each other whenever we get the chance.

"I like remembering what we've been through together and how we've always been there for each other because we care. And in spite of everything that's happened, I don't believe that's ever changed."

"Clark." Lois sat there, stunned, at his heartfelt words. He'd never voiced his feelings about their friendship so candidly before and his passion in expressing them left her without the ability to answer him.

"That's never a good thing." He looked clearly uncomfortable, as though he'd revealed to her more than he intended.

"What's that?"

"You're speechless." The flush on his face deepened in color as he strode for the door. "I'm sorry Lois; I shouldn't have said all of that."

He stepped out into the hall without a backward glance and closed the door firmly behind him.

_What in the hell just happened?_


	6. The Ring of Truth

_He was such an idiot! _

Clark had said too much and that was obvious from the look on Lois's face as she sat on his mother's bed. He'd let his emotions get the better of him and ended up telling her more than he wanted her to know.

When was he going to get it through his thick skull that she didn't want him? When was he going to accept the fact that he'd lost his chance with her and he was going to have to live with it?

_When? _

That was simple; when she was walking down the aisle to marry Oliver. Because Clark knew that his corn fed Kansas upbringing didn't stand a chance against Oliver's cosmopolitan style.

The idea of Lois with Oliver twisted his stomach into a knot tighter than any he ever felt when Lana had married Lex. But that was because what he'd felt for Lana couldn't begin to compare to what he was feeling for Lois.

And _she _thought his heart was still spoken for.

In spite of that though, she'd reached for _him_ when she needed comfort and burrowed her body into _his_. He'd wanted so badly to take her down on the bed with him and kiss her, but Lois had stopped that cold.

'_I'm not Lana.' _

It was a painful reminder of the mistake he'd made, in the very bed she was sitting on, of trying to recapture the past and throwing away a future that would have been so much better.

But as he reluctantly walked away from the door and took the stairs down to the kitchen, Clark came to a somewhat comforting realization. Until Lois accepted a marriage proposal, she wasn't off limits. And while she might not be receptive to any romantic overtures from him at the moment, he didn't believe that she was immune to them.

Since they were going to be in a newlywed situation for a week, it was the perfect time for him to show her how much she meant to him. But_ how _exactly?

Clark had never romanced a girl before and frankly, he wasn't sure how to go about it.

_Who was he kidding? _

He wasn't sure how to go about romancing _Lois_. She wasn't the flowers and candy type and buying her a coffee wasn't special enough.

And then he remembered something that Dad told him about when he and Mom were dating.

'_It's the small things son.' He'd explained. 'You can be like the Luthor's and have all the money in the world, able to buy the woman you love anything. But if you aren't able to show her how much she means to you, wealth doesn't mean a thing.'_

'_How do I do that?' Sixteen year old Clark had asked, frustrated that he couldn't seem to keep Lana Lang's attention._

'_Hold the door open for her.' He'd started a list. 'I know it doesn't sound like much, but women appreciate it. Carry her books or just give her a flower for no other reason than you felt like it.'_

'_Dad, girls _don't_ like that stuff.' He'd objected with a shake of his head and a frown. _

'_You'd be surprised Clark.' His father had smiled knowingly. 'If it's the right girl you're doing it for, she'll be putty in your hands.'_

'_Like Mom?' _

'_Well-' He'd grinned self-consciously and Clark had been startled to see his father's face flush. 'It was more that I was putty in _her_ hands and she didn't even know it. If I hadn't been, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to do all of those things for her.' _

Of course, that was the trick. Finding those small things that would grab Lois' attention and show her how much he cared for her.

But for the moment, he needed to figure out what they were going to have for dinner. He wanted it to be something simple so that they could get through the information from the _Regent_ and then maybe he could persuade her to stay for a movie.

It would probably be too much to hope that he could get her to stay overnight, so he'd take her company that evening as a start because he'd have a whole week to work on her.

When he'd decided on what to cook, he got a pot and a microwave dish and filled them both with water, putting the pot on the stove to boil. He shook his head and grinned as he pulled a bag of chopped broccoli out of the freezer. Whether she liked it or not, Lois was going to have a vegetable with dinner.

"Please do _not_ tell me that's what I think it is."

Clark hadn't heard her come down the stairs and he started. And then he laughed softly. "I'm afraid so Lois. And it's your least favorite too, broccoli."

"It's _spinach_ I don't like Smallville. Why can't you ever remember that?"

"With everything I know about you Lois, spinach isn't the first thing that comes to mind." He stopped short and felt the heat creep up his neck. He'd done it again, told her too much and she seemed to realize it.

"What exactly _do_ you know about me Clark?" She asked and Clark knew if he turned to face her, she'd have her arms folded across her chest and her head cocked to the side in question. _Great. _He was going to be found out as the love sick cub reporter that he was.

_Or was it copy boy? _

Lois's names for him just kept piling up, like the firewood he kept piled up against the side of the house. He never knew what she was going to come up with next.

"Clark?" Her insistent voice got his attention and when he looked at her she was, sure enough, in the stance he knew she'd be in. "You care to explain?"

"There's nothing to explain, Lois." He handed the bag of broccoli to her. "We lived together, twice."

She glanced at what he's pressed into her hand and gave him a look that said, _'What the hell is this?' _as her face turned a pretty shade of pink and then she frowned. "We didn't _live_ together Smallville. I lived with you and your parents."

"But that doesn't change the fact that we did, in fact, live together." Her reaction emboldened him and he reminded her quietly near her ear. "And you slept in my bed."

"Shut up." She huffed and gave him a shove with her shoulder. She then held up the bag as her face shaded a deeper hue and he had to stifle the urge to brush his fingers across her cheek.

The fact was, Clark never thought he would ever have the ability to make Lois Lane blush and yet it was becoming a regular occurrence. And he liked it, _a lot_. "Now what do you expect me to do with this?"

"It's called steaming vegetables." He explained as he then handed her a measuring cup before he grabbed a bag of pasta noodles that sat next to the stove and emptied half of it into the pot of boiling water. "Come on Lois, even _you_ should be able to manage that."

"Not until you show me."

"Give me a minute." He said to her as he picked up a long handled spoon and stirred the noodles before he turned his attention back to her and made a decision.

He seemed to have the advantage when he kept her off balance and the way he was able to do that was when he did something she didn't expect. And he'd begun to realize that the way he kept her off balance was by staying close to her.

_He could do that._

"Come on Smallville. This'll go a lot faster if you do it." She held the cup and frozen vegetables toward him.

"Now how are you going to learn if I do it for you?" He asked her as he closed his hands over hers, and they were shaking. She looked down at his hands on hers and he could hear the rapid beat of her heart.

Why did it suddenly feel like he was cheating?

It didn't matter that he wasn't deliberately tuning into the sound of her heart, but the fact that he could hear with his own ears how his closeness was affecting her made him feel as though he was.

He slipped the cup out of her hand and set it down on the counter. "It's easy."

Lois looked dubious and he smiled encouragingly at her, _'Trust me Lois.'_

'_I guess I have to.' _Her look answered and she sighed.

"It's easy." He repeated as he closed his hands around hers again and he felt her tug. _She was doing that a lot. _"You're going to spill it, so just relax." He soothed as he urged her hands to tip the bag. "Measure out a cup and then when you do, pour it into the dish."

"I can't do that if you keep crowding me." She sighed and shoved again. "Really Smallville, I'd almost think you _liked_ being close to me."

Her eyes flew up and her startled look met his. _'Crap!'_

"Now where would you get an idea like that?" He teased her.

"Oh I don't know." She turned on the sarcasm and he closed his eyes in frustration; one step forward, too many steps back. "Maybe it's because you can't seem to keep your hands off me."

_He'd pushed too hard, _and Lois put him in his place with the truth before she stepped away from him.

The warmth that had been stirring in his chest by having her so close turned cold and he felt completely deflated. He slipped the bag out of her hands and she walked away from him. "I'll take care of this if you'll set a couple of places at the island, or the dining room if you want." He tossed over his shoulder as he measured out the broccoli and put it in the dish. "We'll have more room to spread everything out."

"We can't."

"We can't?" He turned around and she was shaking her head. "Why not?"

"We're not supposed to do homework during dinner." Lois was completely serious and Clark was confused. "So we eat first and after we clear the table, then we'll go through the folder."

"Lois, we're not doing homework." He tried to reason with her. "We're doing research."

"Same difference." She wouldn't budge. "We eat first and then we research."

"Fine." He had to resist the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes as he turned back toward the stove. "We'll eat in here."

"Clark."

"It's okay Lois." He covered the dish and put in the microwave. "That way, I'll just serve dinner from the stove."

"Okay." She sounded uncertain as she went about setting two places at the island while he finished cooking.

It was probably the most uncomfortable he'd ever been with her while they sat and ate in silence. Every once in awhile, he'd look up and see her watching him and she would instantly look down at her plate. And when she would catch him looking at _her_, he'd get up and get the milk out of the refrigerator.

Part of what was making him so uncomfortable was that Lois wasn't talking. It wasn't like her to let pass the fact that he still drank milk with dinner or tease him about the fact that he kept farmers hours, in bed by nine and rising before dawn, _'You're up before the rooster, Smallville.' _

Clark knew how much she liked to needle him, but not that night.

"If you want to get the folder out, I'll clean up in here." He glanced at Lois, who was toying with the last small broccoli flower on her plate. "And eat that, it won't kill you."

Her face flushed at his rough admonishment. _Good one Clark, treat her like a five year old. _

He stood up and carried his plate and glass to the sink. And as he set them down, Lois came up next to him and handed him _her _plate, minus the broccoli. "You should use that tone more often Clark, then people wouldn't walk all over you."

"Including you?" He asked in curiosity, not being entirely sure that he should.

"_Especially_ me. Now scram and go start a fire, I'll clean up in here." She gave him a hesitant look. "I won't make the offer twice."

"It's a little early in the year for a fire, Lois." He pointed out. "Are you sure?"

"This coming from a guy who repairs the roof in the middle of November in a tee shirt." She rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you've never gotten pneumonia."

_She'd seen that? _

"A jacket gets in my way, so I just make sure to have some hot chocolate ready when I finish."

_Was it a good thing that his excuses seemed to come so much easier now? _It was necessary, but he still hated lying to Lois.

"Does your mother know you do that?"

"She knows and doesn't like it any more than you do." That was true. Mom didn't care that he was invulnerable to the cold. It still bothered her to see her only son not properly dressed for winter weather.

That was something she and Lois had in common, how they looked at Clark.

Mom never saw him as the Kryptonian child she and Dad found in the field, just a lost little boy who didn't have any parents. Before he'd turned back time and told Lois about his true origins, once she'd adjusted to the idea, she didn't see him any differently than she had before, except for one thing.

She seemed to be more protective of him, like Dad had always been.

But she still saw him as Smallville.

That was what had made the biggest impression on him and what made him even more determined to protect her from his secret. He didn't want her life turned upside down because she knew who he really was.

So how was it that she was turning _his_ life upside down?

He was putty in her hands and she didn't even know it. How telling was it that _he_ was in the same position Dad was all those years ago?

While he left Lois to clean up the kitchen, he started a fire in the fireplace, as she'd requested. He got the folder and the rings from the back of the couch where he'd left them and put them on the coffee table.

He started reading the brochures about the different activities that were available to honeymoon couples. It surprised him to find out that there were carriage rides around Metropolis or that the rooftop of the _Regent_ was available for an intimate dinner for two.

According to the diagram and the description, a small area of the roof that had a spectacular view of the Metropolis skyline had been converted to accommodate any couple who wanted complete privacy, short of eating room service.

It had been closed in with a glass ceiling and windows that offered an open view that had made it very popular. But unless Tess had made prior arrangements, Clark didn't see having the chance to take Lois up there so they could check it out.

"Thanks for doing that, Smallville." Clark looked up to see Lois with a tray in her hands. On it, she'd put two coffee mugs. spoons, sugar and cream. "I thought we could have our coffee out here. It seems a shame to let that nice fire go to waste."

"Well since it _was_ your idea, I'd have to agree." Maybe he shouldn't have smiled, but he did anyway.

"We're going to have to do something about that sarcastic streak of yours." Lois set the tray down and looked at him. "It's very unbecoming."

"I learned from the best." He couldn't help it and started to laugh and all she did was look exasperated.

"I'm going to have to tell your mother about this." She threatened him as she turned back for the kitchen and he watched her go.

She was the only girl he knew that he felt comfortable enough with to talk to in that way. And it was such a freeing experience because while she may have acted like she was offended, he knew she wasn't. It was just her way of putting him in his place. As though to tell him that he would never be able to best her in the sarcasm department. Maybe not, but he always had a lot of fun trying.

And that was the thing about being around Lois, he had fun.

It was when he was with her that he felt human. It was when he was with her that he was plain old Clark Kent, dorky farm boy turned reporter and not a half bad one at that.

He followed her 'Rules of Reporting' to the letter and whether she admitted it or not, he knew it pleased her that he took her skill as a reporter so seriously.

But she had a child like side to her that she was just beginning to let him see and the idea of getting to see more of it intrigued him.

Who knew that she loved Bugs Bunny cartoons or that she had a secret desire to see the Coyote catch the Roadrunner, just once? Who knew that she scoffed at how the cars in Bedrock were all foot powered?

'_That is just so retarded.', _she'd commented one Saturday morning when he'd somehow managed to persuade her to come out to the farm for breakfast. She'd agreed only if she didn't have to be there before ten and of course he agreed.

And as they sat on the couch drinking their coffee after breakfast, he wondered why he'd never known about her penchant for cartoons when she was living at the farm.

That was easy, because while she wasn't working long hours for Mom at the Talon, her father had her searching the globe for her sister. And even now, Lucy was nowhere to be found and it was a subject that Lois flatly refused to talk about.

"Are you going to keep doing that?" Clark heard her sigh as she plopped down next to him on the couch. "You've been zoning out on me since I came downstairs and it's getting a little old."

"Just thinking." _About her._

"Well stop doing that and fork over that folder." She held out her hand. "You've been studying it like you need to memorize it for a test."

When he picked it up, the envelope with the rings slipped off and landed on the coffee table, spilling its contents. He felt Lois freeze next to him, so it was pretty obvious that she'd seen them too.

"I guess we should talk about those." She took it out of his hands and put the folder down on her lap.

"Talk about what?" He wished that his heart wasn't beating so fast. "They're props."

"They're a little more than that. Clark." Her voice was unsteady and he was curious to know what she was thinking.

And then a thought came to his mind that he knew could be suicidal, but decided to go with the overwhelming urge his suddenly felt.

He reached over and took her left hand in his and predictably she tugged. Clark finally realized that it was a nervous gesture because the evidence was piling up that his nearness to her really was affecting her more than she would ever willingly admit.

'_Do you love him?'_

'_Yes.' _

Was it possible that she'd told the truth that night? Was it possible that she'd lied to him the next day about taking the sensor off of her finger and it was why the lie detector didn't work?

Could he actually be so lucky as to have her heart? He wondered about that for a moment more before he stopped thinking and just acted.

He ran a thumb over her bare ring finger, contemplating what they were about to do. He reached over to the coffee table and picked up the slender band of white gold.

He could feel Lois' hand start to shake because she knew what he was thinking and she tugged again. He grasped her fingers, refusing to let them go and looked into her eyes. "We should see if it's going to fit."

"I'm perfectly capable of trying on a ring, Smallville." There was a tremor in her voice. "So hand it over."

He shook his head because this might be his only chance to see what it could be like, but she stalled him when she curled up her fingers. "It's only a ring Lois."

"It's _not_ just a ring Clark." She sounded breathless as she contradicted him and he had to admit that he liked the sound of it, that he was responsible for it. "It's what it represents."

"It represents a story we're working on." He told her, trying to sound matter of fact about the situation and not quite sure if he was pulling it off. "So just relax."

He brushed his thumb over her knuckles in a soothing pattern that he hoped would get her to ease the grip of her fingers. When she finally did, he could hear the rapid thrum of her heart and when he slipped the ring on her finger, it skipped a beat.

Before he could pick up the solitaire and repeat the process, Lois snatched it up to jam in on her finger and then she frowned.

"I can't wear this." She announced as she looked at the large stone that was nestled against the wedding ring. "Who am I, Liz Taylor?"

"It's not that bad Lois." Clark tried to soothe her, even though he agreed. "But it's what Tess gave us."

"Well then _she_ can wear it, because _I_ won't." Lois pulled the ring off and set it down on the coffee table before she held up her left hand, and she sighed. "But it needs _some_thing."

He couldn't take his eyes off of her hand.

How was it that the simple, unadorned band that rest on Lois' finger could so completely capture his attention? It was only one part in an elaborate charade that they were about to act out and as he'd said, it represented the story they were working on. But still-

"I've got an idea." He must have been out of his mind for what he was thinking. "So why don't you come upstairs with me and we'll see if you agree."

"Why do I need to come upstairs?" She dropped her hand and frowned at him suspiciously.

"It'll save time." He placated her and then stood up. "Come on."

"Clark, what is it?" She closed the folder and set it on the table before she slowly got to her feet. Without thinking about what he was doing he followed his heart and took her hand. He'd never known a hand could fit so perfectly in his as he walked her toward the stairs, but that's because it was hers. She tugged against his hold, but he refused to relinquish it.

He was going to take his opportunities where he could find them to wear down her resistance and if it meant dealing with her stubbornness, he would do it.

The fact was, he'd do _any_thing for her.

He led her up to the second floor and down the hall to his room. When they reached the doorway, he let go of her trembling fingers and walked to his dresser. He opened the lid to a small box that his father had helped him make when he was twelve.

It was the first time he'd been allowed to use the power saw, with Dad's watchful guidance, to create something with his own hands. He'd presented the box to his mother for Mother's Day that year and when she'd moved to Washington, she'd given it back to him to keep for her until she came home.

In that box were special keepsakes Mom had tucked away. His father's wedding ring, her engagement ring and _her_ mother's wristwatch. Clark had put in his father's watch that Mom had passed on to him after Dad died.

He didn't wear it very often because he didn't want anything to happen to it. But he knew that it would be on his wrist when he and Lois walked into the _Regent Hotel _on Saturday; for luck.

Because he was going to need it for what he was about to do.

"So why did you drag me up here?" The nervousness was still in her voice, though she couldn't have any idea what he was thinking.

"Since you don't like the ring Tess wanted you to wear, I thought you might consider wearing this." He reached in for his mother's engagement ring and then showed it to her. "I know it doesn't look like much, but I think it'll be a good match."

To say she looked startled was an understatement and she backed up. "Your mom's ring?"

"I know she wouldn't mind." Clark told her.

"I don't know." He'd never seen her so hesitant and knew that he was going to need some help persuading her. So he picked up his phone that he'd left on the dresser earlier, hit speed dial and waited.

'_Hello?'_

'Hi Mom, it's me.' He smiled at the sound of his mother's voice.

'_This must be my lucky night. Yours is the second call I've gotten from Smallville.' _She told him. _'How are you honey?'_

"I'm fine, working a lot."

'_That's always good to hear, but I don't think you called just to chat with your mother.' _

How did she do that?

"I know we always talk on Sunday, but I need to ask you something that can't wait until then."

'_What is it?' _

"Would it be all right if Lois wears your engagement ring for this story we're doing?" _That's it Clark, cut to the chase. _"She doesn't want to wear the ring Tess provided, but she's not happy with the band by itself."

'_Have you offered it to her already?' _

"I did." He nodded. "I hope you don't mind."

'_Of course I don't because I know she'll take good care of it.' _Mom assured him and then she laughed softly. _'Clark, is there a particular reason that you wanted her to wear _my_ ring?'_

"No." He fibbed uneasily and she called him on it.

'_You're as stubborn as your father.' _She remarked with a sigh. _'Honey, you've got someone in your life who makes you happier than I've ever seen you and yet you refuse to do anything about it.' _

"And you think I should." He answered, mindful that Lois was in the room.

'_I think you _want_ to, son.' _She sounded so much like Dad. _'I think you need to stop being afraid of what you know your heart is telling you and just accept it.' _

"And what's that?" Clark asked, knowing what her answer would be.

'_Clark Jerome, sometimes I really want to put you over my knee.' _Mom sighed again.

"I know." He laughed because the tone of her voice was making that very clear.

'_Well, I need to let you go. We've got an early vote in the morning so I need to get to bed.' _She seemed to have decided to let him off the hook.

"Mom?"

'_What is it?'_

"Have you decided if you're going to run for your seat?" Mom had mentioned when she was home during the August recess that she was seriously considering coming home, for good.

'_I haven't decided anything yet Clark.' _She said and he couldn't help but feel disappointed. _'But when I do decide you'll be the first to know.' _

"Okay."

'_Give Lois my ring and tell her that it's all right with me that she wears it.' _

"Thanks Mom."

'_Don't thank me, thank your dad.' _She laughed. _'If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have it.'_

She sounded too much like Lois, and he grinned as she said good night to him and hung up.

"Well?"

Clark closed his phone and put it back on his dresser, realizing that he still had Mom's ring in his hand. "Mom says it's all right with her if you wear it."

"Oh." He didn't know if she looked surprised or disappointed, or both.

"And she trusts you to take care of it." He added.

"She does?"

"Of course she does, Lois." He held the ring out to her. "So what do you say?"

Her only answer to his offer was to sigh.


	7. Inadvertent Disclosure

_His warm lips were kissing her in places that she hadn't realized were so sensitive and his hands were tuning her body with a gentle touch so that it was in sync with his. He was making it abundantly clear what it was that he wanted, but he also made it clear that he wouldn't proceed until she told him it was all right._

_The thing of it was, she knew what she wanted and who she wanted was him, so she kissed him with all of the passion she was feeling. _

_He kissed her back just as passionately, hands skimming her heated skin as he slipped inside of her so gently that she didn't realize he'd done it until he began to move. _

_His body called to hers to answer his motion and she was helpless not to meet his gentle thrusts with an arch of her back that pleaded with him to show her how deep his passion really went._

_She ran her fingers through the messy mop of dark hair as he pressed a warm kiss to her shoulder, Then as he complied with her insistent request, she felt a thrill run through her at the husky sound of his voice as he whispered her name._

"Lois?"

_Seriously?_

"Lois, you said you wanted to be up by nine." Clark's hand was on her shoulder, gently shaking her.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into staying here." Of all the times to wake her up, it had to be right then. Thanks, Smallville.

"You did say that it made sense for us to leave here together because it would save time." He reminded her, sounding far too amused so early in the morning. "Come on Lane, we have an assignment to get ready for."

"You don't need to remind me of something I agreed to when I was so tired." She growled at him and refused to open her eyes because she didn't want to let go of that feeling of someone needing her, wanting her.

But he didn't bite.

"I've got some chores to finish up." His hand was still on her shoulder. "So while you're taking your shower, I'll take care of that and then I'll make breakfast."

"Our last meal?" She quipped and he laughed.

"We're not walking the last mile Lois." He had to be grinning. "We're just working on a story."

"Did you confirm the reservations?" She asked and when she finally opened her eyes, Clark was crouched down next to the bed.

"First thing this morning and before you ask, our reservations weren't cancelled or lost or-"

"Smallville."

"Lois, whether you like it or not you're stuck with me for the next week." And he laughed again. "So you might as well get used to it."

What she didn't think she'd get used to was the feel of his hand on her. Lois didn't think he was aware that he'd begun to lightly stroke her arm and she wasn't about to tell him to stop; though she really should have. It seemed as though he was offering a gesture of comfort because he knew how uneasy she was about there pending assignment.

"So what do you say?" He asked her, as he suddenly seemed to realize where his hand was and pulled it away before he stood up. Nice work Lana. "I'll make whatever you want and you can have all the coffee you can stand."

"Would you do me a big favor and bring me a cup?" She looked up at his tall frame and saw that he wasn't wearing his usual blue or red tee shirt, but the plaid shirt he'd worn on his first day at the Planet with the sleeves rolled up just below his elbows.

'Human Resources is going to be down here any minute and you do not want to meet them looking like brawny lumberjack.'

"I'm way ahead of you." He folded his arms across his chest looking pretty pleased with himself. "I figured you'd ask, so I put a cup on the dresser."

"Why didn't you put it on the nightstand?" She couldn't get a handle on his thinking sometimes.

"I put it over there so you'd actually have to get out of bed to reach it."

"That figures." She sighed. "Thanks for the consideration, Smallville."

"Any time Lois." He smiled at her again and it was then that she caught it; that look that she didn't want to consider.

The look she couldn't afford to consider.

"So if I leave you alone, can I depend on you to get up?"

"Well, seeing as how you put my coffee on your mom's dresser, I guess I have to." She frowned at him and that just seemed to make him smile more. "You are way too cheerful for nine o'clock in the morning."

"That's because I actually get eight hours of sleep Lois." He shrugged. "You're lucky if you get six."

"Because there's too much to do and I can't waste it sleeping."

"But if you don't get any rest, you make life a little difficult for the rest of us, who do, because you're so cranky." He was grinning at her, so Lois grabbed the extra pillow off of the bed and threw it at him, which only made him laugh again when he caught it so easily. "I'd forgotten how crabby you could be in the morning."

"Obviously, since you did offer me your old room back." She glared at him as he laid the pillow at the foot of the bed.

"An offer that you turned down and then without warning me changed your mind before you decided-" He raised his eyebrows at her and she sat up and reached for the pillow and threw it at him again.

"Out!"

"Don't use all the hot water." He tossed at her before he rushed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

And he was laughing.

"It would serve him right if I did." Lois mumbled to herself. As she tossed back the blankets and got out of bed, she was struck at how much he'd been smiling and laughing in the last few weeks.

He'd been as stone faced as a Sphinx when he'd first come back to the Planet and she wondered what had happened to suck all the life out of him. And she knew it went beyond the sorrow he felt over Jimmy's death.

Lois couldn't shake the feeling that something else had happened, something he refused to tell her, that had given him such an uncharacteristically hard edge.

He was barely speaking to Chloe and that was something she didn't understand because her baby cousin was his best friend. And yet, in all the months that he'd been back, he'd hardly mentioned her name. And when he did, he would get a look in his eye that she didn't like.

They'd had a falling out about something, but Chloe wouldn't tell her what it was. But Lois suspected that it had something to do with Jimmy and Davis; she just wasn't sure what. They were full of secrets, the two of them and it was a part of their friendship that she'd had to learn to accept.

So was it terribly disloyal of her to know that she was the one, and not Chloe who finally got Clark Kent to smile? It was the first Lois had seen since the morning she brought him the bear claws.

She'd lobbed a ball of crumpled paper at him to get his attention when he'd been staring at his monitor for the better part of five minutes.

_'Earth to Smallville. Where are you Clark?' She'd asked and when he looked up at her, he'd smiled at her. A genuine soft smile. _

_'Right where I want to be.'_

And while she would have doubted those words up to that moment, after that morning she knew how true they were. He was much less distracted, started focusing more on the stories he'd been assigned and miracle of miracles, he started returning her volleys of sarcasm, needling and teasing.

Lois had frankly begun to wonder if she would ever get her Smallville back and she was relieved to see that he was slowly returning.

But to her consternation, his frosty attitude toward her cousin didn't thaw. She wanted so much to try and help, but whatever was going on was between Clark and Chloe and it wasn't any of her business.

She took a leisurely shower, stopping short of using all the hot water. She could have if she really wanted to, but Lois just didn't have the heart to do that to him.

She dressed casually in jeans and a blouse and pulled on one of Mrs. Kent's sweaters to stay warm. The mornings were getting cold, though the first snow was at least a month away.

She dried her hair and brushed it out before she put her slippers on and took her empty coffee cup downstairs. It was quiet, which meant that Clark must have still been outside, but there was a pot of fresh coffee waiting for her. So she poured herself another cup and walked to the front door.

She didn't know why exactly, but she had the urge to sit on the porch swing. The last time she'd done it, Mrs. Kent had been home for the August recess and sat beside her remarking how nice it was to be there, if only for a little while.

The farm had always been a place that was so calming to her. And while she loved the busy sounds of Metropolis, the quiet sounds of nature on the Kent farm always had the ability to keep drawing her back.

But if she were to be completely honest with herself, was it the farm or a certain dark haired, blue eyed reporter that lived there?

_Honestly?_ It was both.

She walked outside and closed the door behind her, then stopped in front of the swing and sat down. She curled a leg underneath her and began to push the swing with her other foot, all the while sipping her coffee.

The birds that hadn't already flown south for the winter yet were chirping in the trees and a soft wind was stirring the leaves of red, yellow and gold. They were beginning to carpet the ground and Lois knew that it was only a matter of time before they really started to fall.

There was the smell of wood smoke hanging in the air and she took a deep breath to savor it because this was her favorite time of year.

Her attention was drawn toward the barn when Shelby started to bark excitedly and she heard Clark laughing. It was such a nice sound, to hear him so carefree and it seemed it was only with her and with Shelby that he could be so lighthearted.

It was odd to her that for as long as Clark and Chloe had been friends; she'd never seen him as open with her. He always seemed to be holding something back.

The two of them came out of the barn with Clark grabbing at Shelby's ears and his tail, making the dog run around in circles, barking. She watched with fascination as he teased his dog because Shelby seemed to love it.

Lois smiled because she loved watching it, watching him.

She took another sip of her coffee and set the cup down in her lap as she continued to observe their playtime and wondered how often Clark just relaxed. His life as a reporter didn't seem to be much different than his life as a farmer as far as the work went. But now he was carrying a double load, working as a reporter and keeping the farm going single handedly.

He was amazing.

Clark must have sensed that she was there because she saw him stop, let go of Shelby's tail and turn toward the house. The dog barked at him and bumped Clark's hand with his nose. 'Play with me!'

"Look who's there Shelby." He pointed toward her and Shelby's head whipped around. He barked again and took off at a gallop toward the porch.

Smallville. She should have known he'd do that. It was that little Gremlin he kept hidden and seemed to let out, just for her. Lucky me.

"Clark, if that mutt of yours spills my coffee, we're going to have to have a talk." She warned him and he just smiled.

He then shrugged his shoulders as though to say _'Oh, well.'_

He had no idea how irresistible that casual gesture made him, but she had to resist, if for nothing more than her dignity.

When the dog reached the porch, Clark called to him to sit and remarkably, Shelby sat, without a whimper or a whine. "Good dog."

"When did you teach him to do that?" Lois was curious.

"A while ago." He answered vaguely as he followed the dog to the porch and stopped behind him. "Dad was after me for so long to teach Shelby some basic commands, but I never really seemed to have time until now."

"With all the work you have to do around here, plus your job at the Planet and you've just now found the time?" Who was he kidding?

"It's called organizing your time Lois." He gave her an indulgent look. "I'm sure you've heard of it."

"Of course I have." She gave him an exasperated look. "Who do you think you learned that from?"

"My dad." He told her with a straight face as he stepped up on the porch and opened the front door, pointing inside. "Shelby, in."

The dog got up and trotted into the house as she sighed. "Showoff."

"Shelby or me?" He laughed softly before he walked over to the swing and pulled the cup out of her loose grip. With his other hand, he grasped fingers that were suddenly trembling nervously and he pulled her gently out of the swing and toward the open door. "Come on in, the condemned woman is going to get her last meal."

"I thought you said we weren't walking the last mile." She should have pulled her fingers out of his grasp and everything in her was telling her to do it, because he seemed to be taking note of where her hand was.

But she didn't want to.

"I'm not, but you seem to be." His grip tightened as he tugged her toward the door. "Come on Lois, the sooner we get this week started, the sooner it'll be over."

"You're enjoying this too much." She frowned at him and remembered what he'd said about wanting to spend time with her, but he seemed to have forgotten.

"What can I say?" Clark let go of her hand and nudged her through the doorway and closed the door behind him. "I'm a glutton for punishment."

"Gee thanks Smallville." Lois gave him a pointed look. "That's going to make the week go by so much better."

But all he did was smile.

"You know Lois, it wouldn't kill you to just relax and try to enjoy the whole experience." His voice was soft as he reached for her elbow and held it gently. "When's the last time you had a hotel staff at your beck and call?"

"Never." She admitted reluctantly with a sigh.

"Then now's your chance." He reasoned as his thumb brushed her skin and her stomach fluttered. "Because I won't be."

"No one's expecting you to." It shouldn't have bothered her so much to hear him say it. But it did, a lot.

"I won't unless you want me to be." Clark added hesitantly as his gaze caught hers. "Do you want me Lois?" His face flushed, as he seemed to realize how it must have sounded to her. "To- be at your beck and call?"

How was she supposed to answer such an unintentionally loaded question?

Easy. She didn't want to answer it, and headed for the kitchen.

She heard the frustration in his voice when he whispered "Lois" and she stopped mid-stride, goose bumps raising on her arms. But why?

"Lois?" He approached her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She nodded.

"Are you sure?" Clark came to a stop behind her. "Nothing ever stops you from going to the kitchen." Was he laughing?

She turned around to give him a piece of her mind and he was right there, practically towering over her and he was smiling. She had to curb the urge to reach up and brush her fingers over his full lips because she wanted to so badly.

She wanted to do something else too, but instead she pulled her coffee cup out of his hand and turned back for the kitchen.

"Are you sure you want to do that Lois? More coffee probably isn't the best thing right now." His voice was positively breathless and she couldn't help but wonder why.

"You said yourself that I could have all the coffee I could stand." Lois tossed his earlier promise back at him as she walked into the kitchen. "And I could stand a little more."

She put her cup down on the counter in front of the coffeepot and became acutely aware that he was behind her again. And when she felt the weight of his hands on her shoulders, warning bells went off in her head.

_Oh, god._

"I could stand something else." He nuzzled her hair with his nose and she started to shake because he was making it plainly obvious what he wanted.

She wanted it too, much more than she should have, but- "Clark."

"Please don't turn me down again, Lois." He pleaded with her and all she wanted to do was lean back in his arms. "Please."

"Clark." She pleaded back, not having the will to refuse him. But she wasn't willing to give in to what he was asking for, either.

He seemed to understand why she was hesitating and accepted that he would have to try and persuade her, so Clark slowly turned her around. But Lois wouldn't meet his gaze because if she did, she'd be lost.

Her traitorous eyes however, disobeyed the firm command not to look up into those baby blues of his and she was surprised to see that all traces of humor were gone and he looked as scared as she felt.

She was getting the weirdest sense that it wasn't because he was having second thoughts, but that he wanted it so much and was afraid she didn't.

What in the hell was she supposed to do now?

That was simple.

Lois pushed against his chest and made a break for it, having to resist the impulse to run for the stairs. Instead, she walked at a brisk clip but was stopped just short of the bottom step with a gentle grip on her wrist and his soft, insistent voice. "We need to stop running Lois."

"I'm not running Clark, I'm walking." She tugged, feeling like a trapped animal because she knew he wouldn't let her go. "At least I was."

"That's not what I mean and you know it." He chided her gently. "There's always been something indefinable about us from the night we met. It was there even before we admitted we were friends and in spite of Lana and Oliver, I think it's still there."

He stopped for a moment and when she turned around in curiosity to find out why, his face had lost some of it's color. And she realized with a start that he was really nervous. "Lois, I'd really like to try and see if we can define what it is we are."

_'Trust your heart Lois, and trust his.'_

But she just couldn't give him that power.

"There's not much to define about us Smallville. We're friends, co-workers, former housemates-"

"I love you." He swallowed hard and his complexion went from pale to crimson red in a matter of seconds; and then he dropped her arm.

Lois felt her heart stop in surprise and her own face heated as her heart rate suddenly accelerated at such a rapid pace, she was sure she was about to pass out. And all she could think to say was, "What?"

"I love you." He repeated it and his whole body seemed to relax while hers, on the other hand, tensed up.

_Her?_ She didn't understand this at all.

He couldn't love her, he loved Lana; he'd always loved Lana.

Lois was stunned into absolute silence because she didn't know how to reply. She loved him, of that she had no doubt. But she wasn't prepared to tell him that because she wasn't prepared to accept his feelings for her.

Her heart was at stake.

"I know you probably don't believe me and I don't blame you." He backed up, looking so unsure. "Because I haven't really shown you how I feel about you, but maybe you'd consider giving me that chance this week."

"What are you suggesting?" Lois had a pretty good idea where he was going, and wasn't sure she wanted to go with him.

"Let me take a more personal approach to this story." He hesitated. "Instead of looking at this completely from a reporter's point of view-"

She knew she wasn't going to like it and stopped him. "You want to look at it more from a groom's perspective."

"Something like that." Clark ran a hand through his hair nervously and his face flushed again. "All I'm asking is if you'd be open to the idea of letting me show you that I'm serious about this, about you."

"I don't know." Yes you do, Lois.

"That's fair." He nodded and sighed again. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go upstairs and take a shower before I start breakfast. Would you set a couple of places at the table for me?"

"Sure." It was the least she could do because he looked so hurt and was trying so hard not to show it.

"Thanks." Then without any warning, he stepped forward, took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was a soft, sweet and heartfelt kiss that left her knees shaking and her wanting so badly to kiss him back. But before she could follow through on that thought, he was jogging up the stairs a moment later, leaving her completely stunned.

_He loved her._ Lois was having a lot of trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that a man she never thought she'd ever fall in love with loved her back.

It just wasn't possible. _Was it?_

If it was, did she really want to take the risk of being romanced by him? Because that's what he was asking of her. If she opened herself up to the possibility of giving him her heart, she wouldn't have control over it any more and she wasn't sure she was willing to do that.

But love was a risk and the question she asked herself was this; was Clark Kent worth that risk?

He obviously thought she was because he'd just told her that he loved her even though she didn't think he'd been ready to reveal that to her. And he probably hadn't wanted to, worrying that it would make things awkward.

The funny thing about it was, Lois felt less nervous than she had before when she should have been more nervous. How exactly did that work?

She set the table while thoughts turned over in her mind, trying to work out a solution and then she headed back upstairs to tidy up Mrs. Kent's room and finish packing her suitcase. All the while keeping an eye on the bathroom and Clark's room.

She made the bed, zipped up her suitcase and set it by the door. When she sat down on the edge of the bed, she saw the rings she would be wearing for the next week and wondered again why she'd agreed to wear his mother's engagement ring. And it occurred to her that it was something that he'd asked because he loved her. Mrs. Kent had tried to tell her, but Lois still wasn't sure she was ready to hear it.

She jumped when the ring of her cell phone startled her and she picked it up off the nightstand. "Hello?"

_'Lois?'_

It was him.

"Hi." She answered distractedly. How bad was it that she'd completely forgotten about him?

_'Hello.'_ Lois heard the sound of the modified voice. _'Did I catch you at a bad time?'_

"What would make you say that?" Why was she being so defensive?

_'You sound a little more distracted than usual.'_ He observed and Lois rolled her eyes. _'But then you always seem to sound a little distracted whenever we talk.'_

That was just great, another sarcastic male she had to deal with.

"There's just a lot going on at the moment."

_'I understand that.'_ He sympathized, but didn't say anything else.

"I don't think you do." Lois shook her head. "I just got some information that I'm not sure what to do with."

_'What sort of information would that be?'_

"It was something I wasn't expecting." Was she really going to tell someone she barely knew about that? "And it scares me."

_She was._

There was a long pause and Lois wondered if she'd told him too much. _'Is it the information that scares you or the messenger?'_

"Both." She told him honestly and then began to shake. "How can I be sure that the information is true?"

_'Do you trust the messenger of this information?'_

"Of course I do." The idea that anyone would doubt that irritated her. "I trust him with my life."

It shocked her to realize that she really did because he had saved her, more than once.

_'Do you think you can trust him with your heart?'_ That was a question she didn't know how to answer. But-

"I want to." She reluctantly admitted. "I really do."

_'Then do, Lois.'_ Came his simple answer. _'If you can trust him with your life, you can trust him with your heart.'_

"But how do I know that when someone else had his heart for so long?" It was a desperate question from a desperate woman.

_'A person's first love isn't always their only love.'_ He told her. _'And sometimes, if a man is really lucky, he finds love where he never expected it to be. And it's a love that can't compare to anything that's come before because he's never felt anything that deep with anyone but her.'_

"It sounds like you've had some experience with this." Did he have a girlfriend, a wife?

_'You could say that.'_ He commented. _'Life doesn't always happen the way we expect it will; sometimes it's even better.'_

"I wish I could believe that."

_'You can if you'll let yourself. The question is, can you?'_

"I don't know."

_'I think you do Lois.'_ He told her and then the line went dead.

Lois closed her phone and when she put it back on the nightstand, the rings caught her eye. She picked up Mrs. Kent's engagement ring and studied it, wondering how she must have felt when Mr. Kent had presented it to her when he'd proposed.

She'd been deeply in love and had agreed to spend the rest of her life with the one man who'd made her life complete. They'd gotten married, built a life together, raised a son together and even the loss of him couldn't diminish her love for him.

That was the kind of a love Lois didn't think she'd ever have a shot at. And the idea that it might be there for her, just around the corner, terrified her.

But what was it exactly that terrified her, the specter of a ghost in the form of his ex-girlfriend? Or the idea that if she let herself love him, that it would be like nothing she'd ever experienced before?

That was something she couldn't answer, not yet.

She set the ring down and sighed before she got up off the bed and walked out of the room. She took the stairs down to the kitchen and saw Clark standing at the stove.

The aroma of bacon, with a tinge of being slightly burnt filled the kitchen and she smiled, in spite of her confusion. Bacon that was burnt around the edges was her favorite way to eat it and he'd obviously remembered.

He was wearing a plain white tee shirt over his jeans and work boots. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him in anything but blue or red, but she liked it. His hair was still damp from his shower and a mess of dark locks, but her attention was drawn to the play of muscle across his back as he cooked.

Lois approached him quietly and took a breath, knowing it was her turn to make a move. She grasped the edge of his tee shirt for a moment to get his attention and felt him start. She looked up into his soft gaze and he reached for her hand. "I don't love her anymore Lois."

"I really want to believe that." She put her cheek against his shoulder and sighed as he gently ran his thumb across her knuckles.

"You can." She felt his lips on her hair. "Because it's true."

Just go for it Lois.

"Then I'm open to the idea of you showing me."

There was no turning back now.

"I won't let you down." He promised her.

"I want to believe that too."

"Then do." And when she looked up into his eyes again, she saw the sincerity in them and gave in to the urge that had nearly overwhelmed her earlier.

She kissed him.


	8. Out of the Frying Pan

The one thing Clark never thought he'd have was a warm and willing Lois in his arms, kissing him like she meant it. But he did and the sound of his heart pounding in his ears reinforced that.

Or was it hers?

It didn't really matter because the feel of her lips caressing his, and the softness of her skin as she curled her arms around his neck was more than he'd dared hope for when he woke up that morning,

It probably wasn't fair that he'd talked her into coming out to the farm again under the pretext of laying the groundwork for their week ahead. But he figured it would be the only way to get her there.

And then once he'd talked her into it, he persuaded her to stay overnight. His reasoning was that instead of driving into town to pick her up, they could just leave the farm together. It would save time and gas, he explained.

He could see her wrestling with the idea after he'd presented it to her and she was probably trying to come up with a million reasons why she shouldn't. But in the end, she reluctantly agreed.

_Chalk one up for the Kent Farm._

When he'd gotten up that Saturday morning he could feel the warmth in his chest that seemed to reside there when Lois was near. _Who was he kidding? _It nearly always seemed to be there because she was never far from his thoughts.

He'd gotten dressed and started a pot of coffee, knowing it would be the first thing she'd want after she woke up. And while he waited for it to brew he went back upstairs to his mother's room and stood in the doorway, watching Lois sleep.

He knew part of the reason he did it was that small seed of fear he carried that she would disappear again. It didn't matter that he understood why she had in the first place and the chance of it happening again were remote since he'd hidden the Legion ring and not mentioned it to anyone; not even Chloe.

And as far as he knew, Tess was unaware of the existence of the ring even as much as she claimed to know about him. He still didn't know how, but she'd discovered where he'd hidden his crystal in the barn and had taken it upon herself to destroy it so he couldn't send Davis to the Phantom Zone and he would have to fight Doomsday.

Jimmy's death and so much destruction could have been avoided if she hadn't interfered in something she didn't understand.

Clark had always been the kind of a guy to give someone the benefit of the doubt and had a bad habit of giving people third and fourth chances, only to be disappointed.

Lana and Lex were proof of that.

But Tess wasn't getting a second chance and Clark now viewed her with a healthy dose of suspicion. It wasn't an emotion he was comfortable with, but Tess had proved herself untrustworthy and to his disappointment, so had Chloe.

He'd talked to her only once since he'd returned to Smallville and she'd told him everything. It grated on him that she'd insisted that what she did, she did for him; to protect him. How was not letting him send Davis to the Phantom Zone protecting him?

How in the heck was tasering _Jimmy _protecting him?

Time and again he'd asked her if anything was wrong and to let her know that he was there for her. But each time she'd told him everything was fine.

She'd lied to him and that cut deep. And now she was angry with him because he refused to use the Legion ring to go back and save Jimmy.

Clark knew Lois was aware of the rift in his friendship with Chloe and was grateful that she hadn't pressed him for answers. But that was one of the things he'd come to love so much about her; she respected his need to keep some things to himself.

He wasn't sure of what he was suddenly aware of first. The fact that Lois had begun to shake or that the smell of burning pork filled the air.

_The bacon. _

Without letting go of the woman he had in his arms. Clark reached over and moved the frying pan and turned off the burner. But she took that as an opportunity to pull herself out of his embrace and she turned for the living room. "We need to open some doors."

"Lois, you're running again." He shouldn't have smiled, but he couldn't seem to help it because he was having a hard time catching his breath.

"I'm not running." _He'd heard _that_ before._ "I just don't want your mother's house to burn down."

He shook his head in amusement and watched her go before he opened the back door to air out the kitchen. And as the smoke began to clear he walked through the living room and followed her out to the porch.

She was standing just outside the front door and he could see that she was trying to catch her breath as well and try as he might, he couldn't stop a grin. He still couldn't believe that she'd agreed to give him a chance and he was determined to show her that what he felt for her was very real.

Clark came to a stop behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. He caressed them gently because she was still shaking and her voice was positively breathless. _He liked the sound of it._ "I've never been kissed like that before."

_Really? _

The warmth in his chest got even warmer as his heart fluttered with pleasure. But still- "Well actually Lois, you were kissing _me_, so _I_ should be the one saying that."

"Whatever." She tried to brush him off, but couldn't quite do it.

"Lois?" He continued to brush her shoulders and the shaking began to calm.

"What?" She leaned against his chest and put her head back on his shoulder. She was sending him an unmistakable signal that she trusted him and Clark felt the sudden weight of responsibility to do everything he could to keep her trust.

"Would you kiss me again?" He swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and had the absurd urge to laugh because it sounded suspiciously like he was begging. But if it's what he had to do to feel her lips on his again, he'd do it. "Because I've never been kissed like that either."

"Really?" She voiced his own thought as she turned around and he saw the look of surprise on her face before it turned to one of suspicion. "You're not just saying that."

"You know me a lot better than that Lois." He shook his head. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"Oh." His candor in the matter seemed to catch her off guard, but only for a moment. "Okay."

And she kissed him.

She started to shake again as her arms crept around his neck and his arms found their way back around her waist. He then got the oddest sensation that Lois was trying to get her body as close to his as she possibly could when she pushed against him and he did the gentlemanly thing to try and help her out; he held her even tighter.

He threaded his fingers into her loose hair as they stood together on the porch and kissed. Her lips merged with his and their breath mingled together as they each seemed to try and adjust to the unexpected change in their relationship.

Her shaking finally subsided and her hold around his neck loosened as her hands traveled down his back, learning the feel of him. And that was when she finally broke their kiss and just held him.

The feel of her chest pressed against his own made his heart skip at an odd beat as he returned the favor and began to learn the feel of her too.

"You really love me." Lois whispered as her fingers traced the tense muscles with a feather touch, making him a little crazy. And Clark knew it was going to take some time for her not to be afraid of it.

"I really love you Lois." He nodded and it felt so right saying it.

"Then if you really love me, you'll feed me." She laughed softly, breathlessly and pushed herself out of his arms before heading into the house. "Because I'm still hungry."

'_So am I.' _He thought with a sigh as he watched her go back inside, but it wasn't food he was hungry for.

On the surface of it, after he'd followed her back into the house and made them breakfast, it was as though nothing had changed between them. Lois needled him endlessly about any subject she could get her hands after he asked her to make the toast and he salvaged what he could of the bacon and scrambled the eggs.

His first thought was that she was nervous because she always talked a lot when she was nervous. But while she may have been talking so much that he could hardly get a word in edgewise, he did notice that instead of keeping her distance as he fully expected her to do, Lois was actually _closing_ the distance between them.

Clark would bet that she wasn't even aware of it, but that was all right with him because _he_ was.

She talked all through breakfast.

She talked while she helped him clean up the kitchen and she continued to talk as she followed him back out to the barn so he could do the midday milking.

The Hubbard's and the Carmichael's had agreed to come to the farm for the next week to take care of the chores for him, so that meant he wouldn't have to worry about the evening milking once he and Lois had left.

Clark could have easily super sped to the farm and taken care of everything himself, but he didn't want to waste a moment of the time he was going to have with Lois. He didn't want to be glancing at his watch, knowing he needed to get home.

'_You have some place you need to be, Smallville?' _She would invariably ask him and he'd have no plausible explanation for why he looked like he needed to be somewhere else.

"Lois, you don't need to come out to the barn. I know it's not exactly your favorite place to be." He teased her and couldn't help but wonder if _he_ were the reason she was accompanying him. It had always been hard for him to tell what she was thinking.

"It's not like I've _never_ been out here before Clark." Lois gave him a pointed look. "When your dad was running for the senate, I had to follow him around out here all the time."

Clark smiled and then nodded. "Sometimes that was the only way I could talk to him. He was always busy, always doing _some_thing."

"Sounds a lot like his son." She commented. "I swear, I think the only time I see you actually sitting down for more than five minutes is at the _Planet_."

"That's because it's probably the only time I _get_ to sit down for more than five minutes." He laughed as they got to the barn and without letting himself think about what he was doing, he took her hand in his and squeezed it.

Her face flushed at his action, but she didn't try and pull it away and that made _his_ face flush. She really was going to give him a chance.

"Why don't you hire someone to work the farm for you?" Lois asked him as they walked into the barn. "You've already got a full time job as a reporter. Why spend all of your free time doing another full time job?"

"Because I like it Lois." He dropped her hand and got the milking stool that hung from a peg near the cow's pen and set it down. "And I feel closer to Dad working out here.

"He always wanted more for me and didn't want me to settle for being a farmer. But for a long time, I did because I thought I owed it to him. The way things are now, I'm getting the chance to be what Dad wanted me to be-"

"Not a farmer." She quipped.

"And-" He let her sarcasm go without comment. "I'm taking care of a place that meant so much to him and to Mom and means so much to me."

"You are still such a farm boy, Smallville." Lois smiled at him. "But that's what makes you, so- _you_."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should." She put her hands on her hips. "Because that's how I meant it."

"Thank you." He gave her a soft kiss and realized that kissing her was quickly becoming habit forming. But he also realized, with surprise, that she was letting him do it.

"You're welcome." Her face flushed because she seemed to realize the same thing. "Now are you going to stand there all day talking to me or milk that cow?"

"I can't do both?" He laughed softly and sat down.

"If I stay here, I'm only going to be a distraction." Lois shook her head. "So while you're taking care of that, I'm going to take a walk down to the back forty and then head back to the house."

_That sounded like an invitation._

"So if I finish the milking before you get back to the house, would you mind some company?" He looked up at her and hoped he didn't appear _too_ eager.

"That's why I mentioned it." She answered with a smile and then turned to leave. "So don't take too long."

He watched her walk out of the barn and felt the strong urge to speed through the milking so he could follow her. But he'd learned the hard way that there were some things that couldn't be rushed and the milking was one of them.

Besides, Lois wasn't going anywhere. He had to remind himself that she was fine and only going for a walk. She was taking a road that she'd taken hundreds of times before on a farm she knew almost as well as he did.

A farm that never really felt like home unless she was there.

The truth was, _any_ place felt like home as long as she was there.

He watched the road again as he finished the milking and then walked with the pail to the house. He put it on the back porch, covering it with a clean dishcloth the way Mom taught him. Mrs. Carmichael had called him that morning and told him she would pick up the early afternoon milking on her way back from town, so it wouldn't go to waste.

The cream was the best part because nothing tasted better in coffee than that.

He started down the road Lois had taken and again had to resist the urge to super speed down to her. When he reached the end of the road, Lois was standing quietly, her hands in her back pockets.

From her stance, it seemed as though she was deep in thought about something. "Lois?" He called to her softly. "Is everything all right?"

"Do you think he's alone in the world?" She answered him with a sigh and Clark had a pretty good idea of who she was talking about. "Do you think he has anyone to share his life with?"

"Who?" He felt stupid for asking, but he had to play along.

"The Blur." She told him and he felt his heart hitch because it seemed as though he might still have some competition. Maybe that's why she initially hesitated in giving him a chance. "He's so busy looking after Metropolis and keeping us safe, it just seems kind of sad that he wouldn't have someone to go home to."

_Okay Clark, how are you going to handle this?_

"What brought this on?" He asked carefully.

She glanced up at him and Clark wondered if she was trying to gauge his reaction. "He called earlier."

"Oh." He tried to sound casual about it. "And what did _he_ have to say?"

"Nothing much really. _I_ actually did most of the talking." She replied with a shrug and then pointed an accusatory finger at him, knowing what he wanted to say. "Don't even think it Smallville."

"I wasn't thinking any such thing Lois." He laughed, knowing how right she was about him. "So he called just for the heck of it?"

"Don't sound so surprised Clark." His comment seemed to get her riled. "There _are_ guys who actually want to talk to me."

"What's that supposed to mean? _I_ talk to you."

"Yea. And how long did _that_ take?" _Was she picking a fight with him? _"You barely said a word to me for weeks and left me with most of the workload."

She was, but _why_?

"And I apologized for that." He told her.

_Why was she doing this?_

"No you didn't." Lois fixed him with a glare. "You just acted like nothing weird had happened and went back to being your annoyingly charming self."

"You think I'm charming?" The warmth in his chest heated with satisfaction and his face did too. The information he got from her when she was annoyed with him was always interesting, and revealing.

"You wish." She replied defensively and pushed at him as she stalked back up the road.

"Well I happen to think you're beautiful." He told her retreating back. "I always have."

She stumbled at his revelation, but maintained her footing and kept going.

"Lois?"

"I heard you." She tossed back and continued to walk. "I think everyone in Lowell County heard you."

If Clark didn't know better, he would swear Lois was suddenly getting cold feet because they were going to be leaving the farm before too long. So much had happened to them in such a short span of time and he suspected that it was just now sinking in with her.

He'd kissed her, told her that he loved her and Lois was understandably dubious. But he wasn't discouraged because he already knew he was going to have to be patient with her. He knew he was going to have to prove that she really did have his heart.

_Baby steps Clark. _He told himself as he jogged ahead to catch up with Lois and he reached out for her hand. She didn't resist as he grasped her trembling fingers in his and walked back up the road with her.

"Are we really going to do this?"

"It'll be fine Lois." He tried to reassure her as her hand curled around his and he tightened his hold. "The trick is not to look like reporters working on a story, but not to forget to do our job in gathering information, either."

He'd bet Lois was rolling her eyes. _'Duh.'_

"Does that mean you've changed your mind about working from a groom's perspective?"

"That hasn't changed." He shook his head. "And something tells me that's making you a little nervous."

"It doesn't make _you_ nervous?" She sounded incredulous and couldn't seem to look him in the eye.

"It makes me anxious to get it started." He told her honestly and was more than a little relieved when Lois began to laugh.

"That figures."

"Like a small part of you isn't looking forward to it." Clark pulled her closer to him.

"About as much as I look forward to an ingrown toenail." She tossed back at him and he smiled. As long as Lois was sparing with him, he knew that she was all right.

"Your toe wouldn't dare, Lois because you'd just order it not to." He grinned and the unease he'd begun to feel started to ebb.

"You make me sound like the General."

"You _do_ sound like your dad sometimes." Clark told her. "You quote him often enough."

She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Dad's words have a way of staying with me, whether I like it or not."

"I don't think you mind." He commented. "And I think your dad would be proud of everything you've done in the last few years."

"He is." Lois said and Clark was genuinely surprised. _She'd been talking with her dad? _His face must have shown his amazement because she shrugged again. "Dad and I may not be close like you are with your mom, but we do stay in touch."

"Is he still at the Pentagon?"

"Yea. And he figures it'll be his final post before he retires."

"Would he consider coming to Kansas when he does?" He asked as they approached the house and her hand started to shake again.

"I can't see my dad settling in farm country, Smallville. He's not exactly the Jersey cow kind of guy."

"He doesn't have to be a farmer Lois." He couldn't help but laugh. "I just thought it would be nice for him to be closer to his daughter."

"Dad and I haven't lived within a hundred miles of each other since I left home. I'm not sure we could do it now."

"I would have thought the last couple of days were proof that anything is possible." He squeezed her hand. "Who would have ever thought we'd be where _we_ are?"

"We're walking on a dusty road back to the house. That's where we are."

"Okay Lois." Clark shook his head as he smiled.

They didn't talk the rest of the way, but it was a companionable silence. Her hand was still shaking though, so he ran his thumb across her knuckles and that seemed to calm her.

"You're very good at that." Lois mentioned quietly.

"What's that?"

"Calming me down." She admitted to him. "You always have been."

_He never knew that. _

"Try not to overthink this week." He said. "We'll just let things happen and see where it goes."

"You really are too calm about this."

"And you're making too much of it." He countered and then stopped her with a tug on her hand and waited for her to look at him. "Lois, nothing will happen that you don't want to happen, okay?"

"Just what do you ex_pect_ to happen?" She frowned.

"The only thing I expect from this week is to spend the time with you." He grinned. "And the small matter of a story."

"Well at least you've got your priorities in the right order."

"You'll always be my first priority." He wouldn't let her look away. "And the more comfortable you get with this, with me; you'll realize that."

All she could do was nod, and then pulled on his hand, moving him forward. "Let's get back to the house because you need to get back in the shower."

He really shouldn't have said it, but he did anyway. "Is that an invitation?"

"In your dreams Smallville." Her face flushed a deep crimson. "You really should have waited until after you did the midday milking before you took your shower."

"Probably." He agreed. "But a person can never be too clean."

"But they can feel like a prune." She squeezed his hand and laughed.

She was an enigma; he'd always thought so. But half the fun in knowing her for as long as he had was trying to figure her out. Because as soon as he thought he had, she'd throw him a curve ball he never saw coming, and he'd have to start all over again.

But that wasn't a bad thing.

Once they got back to the house, Lois ordered him upstairs for another shower and she followed him, detouring to his mother's room to change.

Time was getting short. And he figured that by the time he finished cleaning up and getting changed, getting the suitcases downstairs and closing up the house, they should make it into Metropolis with time to spare.

He'd decided to wear the shirt and pants he'd worn to Chloe and Jimmy's engagement party. He may not have been able to acknowledge it at the time, but his choice in what he'd worn had gotten Lois's attention.

And he wanted every advantage he could get going into the week.

He'd shrugged into his dark jacket and was adjusting the collar of his shirt when he heard Lois call for him.

"Smallville, chop chop!" Her irritated voice floated up the stairs. "They're going to give that room away if we don't move it."

"Calm down Lois." He shouldn't have smiled, but he did. "We've got plenty of time, so stop worrying."

"I worry because you insist on driving the speed limit." She sighed. "I mean, who actually drives the speed limit? Except _you_ I mean."

"At least we'll get there safely." He shook his head with amusement as he picked up the suitcase from his bed and carried it to the door, setting it down.

"Are you saying that I'm reckless?" He could see her standing at the foot of the stairs, her hands on her hips in irritation.

"Not reckless Lois." He stopped in front of his dresser and opened the box to get Dad's watch. "You just drive a little faster than I'd like."

"Well at least we'd get there faster." She huffed as Clark fastened the watch to his wrist and just before he closed the box, his father's wedding ring caught his eye. He didn't give himself time to think about it. Instead of putting on the ring that was sitting on the dresser, he picked up Dad's ring, worn from years of hard work, and slipped it on.

His heart skipped a beat at the gravity of what he was doing, of what _they_ were doing. Because not only was Lois going to wear his mother's engagement ring, but now he was wearing his father's wedding ring.

It was personalizing the whole situation much more than he probably should have. And with an unpredictable Lois downstairs, he had to hope she wouldn't notice.

He picked up his suitcase and walked out of the room, heading down the hall to his mother's room. He found Lois' suitcase just inside the door and that surprised him. He thought for sure she would have taken it down herself, because ordinarily, she would have.

He carried the suitcases down to the front hall and set them down by the front door. "Did we decide if we were going to take your car or my truck-" He stopped suddenly as he saw Lois standing in the living room, in front of the fireplace.

_She was beautiful._

And she was wearing the red dress she'd worn on her undercover date with Sebastian Kane. The dress she'd asked him to zip up for her, giving him a view of her back he'd never seen before.

'_You always wear so little on a first date?'_

"Let's take my car." She answered him without turning around. "I'll even let you drive."

"You're generosity overwhelms me Lois." He found himself smiling. "If you're ready to go, I'll get the suitcases out to the car and then we can go."

"Are you ready for this?" She turned around and he didn't fail to notice the once over she gave him before her face colored. "You clean up really well, Smallville."

"You don't look half bad yourself Lane." He followed her lead. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Then you'll need these-" She handed him her keys and the brush of her fingers against his palm sent a shock wave down his arm. "I'll be right behind you."

Lois motioned with her hands for him to get going.

"You better be." He answered without thinking, but then realized it was what they'd said to each other when they were in the Phantom Zone. She didn't remember any of that, _did she?_

"The clock is ticking, so let's go." She pointed toward the door.

"I know, chop chop." He sighed dramatically as he opened the door and picked up the suitcases. "I'm a glorified pack mule."

"You're much better looking than a pack mule, Clark." Lois winked at him. "And much handier too."

"I _think_ that was a compliment." Clark commented more to himself than anything as he walked out to the porch, suitcases in hand, knowing she'd give him the answer he was expecting.

"It was Smallville and you know it." She closed the door behind him and he laughed as he walked to her car.

She was right, he knew it.


	9. Into the Fire

When did the shy farm boy she'd known for the last five years become a man? And such a confident man at that? When had his shoulders, that always seemed to carry the weight of the world on them, become so broad?

She couldn't help but ponder those questions as they drove to Metropolis to begin what should have been an innocuous assignment, meaning nothing. But knowing that he loved her and knowing how much she loved him, even though she hadn't told him yet made the whole thing much too personal, too real.

And he was wearing his father's wedding ring.

It was the second thing she noticed as she was giving him the once over before they left the farm. There was something about the particular combination of clothing he wore that really brought out the blue in his eyes, and left her helpless to keep from looking into them.

But that didn't stop her heart from skipping a hard beat when she noticed that on the third finger of his left hand, he was wearing the ring she'd seen Mr. Kent wear every day she'd known him.

So there they both were. Each wearing a ring that had meant so much to both of his parents and embarking on a charade that had them taking on the temporary roles of Clark and Lois Kent, Mr. and Mrs.. She had to admit that while on the one hand the idea scared the hell out her, on the other, she kind of liked the sound of it.

"Lois, you've been staring at me for the last twenty minutes." She heard Clark's amused voice, but his eyes remained on the road ahead. "Are you trying to figure out a way to tell me that you've changed your mind and don't want to do this story?"

"And give Tess Mercer the satisfaction of knowing I backed out on an assignment? I don't think so." She turned in her seat and folded her arms across her chest, not willing to tell him that she just wanted to look at him.

"Why do you let her bother you so much?" He glanced at her for a moment. "She's been pretty scarce at the _Planet_ lately."

"That may be true, Smallville. But when she _is_ there, she's nothing but trouble."

"Sounds like a girl I've known for the last five years." He laughed and if he hadn't been driving, Lois would have been sorely tempted to reach over and punch him and he seemed to realize it. "I'd resist that urge Lois, unless you want to get into an accident." And he laughed again.

"With the way you drive, that'll never happen."

"Why is that? My lightning fast reflexes?" She saw him grin.

"No. It's because you drive like a granny." Lois laughed and she felt her face flush as the sound of his laughter mingled with hers. She couldn't remember a time when they'd ever laughed together, mostly because he laughed so seldom.

Maybe she could change that.

"Lois?"

"Yes?" She looked over at him and the amusement on his face was gone.

"I've been thinking about how we're going to deal with everything once we get to the hotel." He started. "I mean, we _are_ supposed to be newlyweds-"

"And you don't want anyone to get suspicious because we aren't acting like two people who just got married."

"Something like that." He nodded. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable but we are in a situation that's going to require us to be a little uncomfortable."

"Don't worry about me Smallville." Lois shook her head. "I can handle a little handholding. Are _you_ going to be okay with it?"

"Are you going to be okay with me carrying you over the threshold?" He answered her question with a question of his own. "That's one of those things that people expect a groom to do for his bride."

"Oh." _Crap. _"I hadn't thought about that."

"I hadn't either until a few minutes ago." He seemed to admit. "So do you think you can play along?"

"Do you still love me?"

"Yes." The look on his face was one of confusion. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"Then I can play along." _Because I love you too._

"Okay." Clark seemed even more confused. "How are we doing on time?"

Lois turned her wrist so she could look at her watch, 3:45. "We've got fifteen minutes."

"We're okay then because I can see the off ramp."

_He could? _

Lois looked ahead and couldn't see it. "Should I ask if you know how to get there?"

Clark reached between them and held up a piece of paper. "Directions I got from the Internet. So would you be my navigator and read them to me?"

"Sure." She agreed and as she scanned the details, she had a sudden memory of driving with her father during one of their many moves. He'd called her his little co-pilot when he'd asked her to look for the road signs that would get them to Fort Lewis.

And when they made it, he praised her for getting them to their new house.

Funny, she hadn't thought about that in a long time.

She hadn't talked to Dad since she'd come back from wherever the hell she'd gone to and still couldn't shake the memory of the sound of his frantic voice, demanding to know that she was all right and unhurt.

It took some time to convince him that she was fine and that he didn't need to come to Kansas to see for himself. Because he was packed and ready to come out on the first available transport, he'd told her.

And he would have done it too.

By the time they got to the off ramp, Lois was looking at the map and directing him to the _Regent_. As they got closer and the hotel came into view, she couldn't help but appreciate what a beautiful building it was.

She'd never actually been inside, but had read in the information Tess had given them that it was one of the oldest hotels in Metropolis. The lobby itself was supposed to be like stepping back into another time.

But at the moment, as Clark came to a stop at the entrance, she needed to step into the role of newlywed. And she took a deep breath.

"It won't be too long Lois." Clark seemed to sense her apprehension and reached for her hand. He gripped it gently and gave her a hesitant smile. "Once we check in and get up to the room, we can relax."

"I know." She nodded and squeezed his hand in return, wanting to say something to him, but not exactly sure what. "I know."

A valet was waiting for him to get out of the car and Lois waited while Clark came around and opened her door. _Here we go. _

Lois reached for the hand he held out to her. Getting out of the car was something she was perfectly capable of doing on her own, but for the next week, appearances would mean everything.

He'd popped the trunk before he turned over the keys, so after the bellman got their luggage; Clark and Lois followed him into the hotel. The reporter in her said, '_Make a note, Lois. This is a full service hotel.' _

"Good afternoon." The cheery voice of the desk clerk greeted them. "How may I help you?"

"You have a reservation for Kent." Clark's voice was a little unsteady and Lois put her head down to hide a smile; Mr. Cool as a Cucumber sounded nervous.

"Kent." She repeated and Lois felt his grip on her hand. "The honeymoon suite."

"We made it official this morning." Clark caught Lois' eye and his face was flushed. She knew hers was too.

"Well, congratulations to you both." She smiled at them. "As it so happens, we have some other couples here that are honeymooning and celebrating anniversaries. When that happens, we plan activities and events that cater to our special couples. Now, you're under no obligation to participate, but we've been told that it's something that makes the honeymoon or anniversary experience a little more memorable. All of the information is in your room and will go into more detail."

"Thank you." Clark handed her the credit card Tess had provided with the stipulation that if it was lost or stolen, he and Lois were liable for all expenses.

The clerk entered the information into the computer and handed the card back to him. "I'll need to see that again when you check out just to verify that we have the right card."

"I understand." He nodded as she handed him two key cards.

"Your key card information has been entered into the computer, so if one of them is lost, bring down the other and we'll re-key it and give you a second one."

"You hear that Smallville?" She smiled at him and then at the desk clerk. "He's always losing his keys."

"Lois." He frowned at her as she expected him to do. "She doesn't need to know that."

It was the desk clerk's turn to put her head down and she coughed softly into a balled up fist. _She was laughing. _When she regained her composure she turned her attention to the waiting bellman. "Matthew, please take the Kent's up to the honeymoon suite."

He nodded and looked at Clark after he picked up their suitcases. "If you'll follow me, we'll get you upstairs."

_The Kent's. _An odd warmth stirred in her chest at the sound of it.

"As you already know, your key card is for your room but it's also to access the elevator." The bellman explained as he pushed the call button. "It gives the hotel control over who's on the guest floors and gives our guests more security."

"Has the _Regent_ had trouble with people wandering around who aren't guests?" Lois asked.

"_We_ haven't, but there are other hotels that have." He elaborated as Clark handed him a key. "So the management decided to act preemptively and put this security measure in place."

"Have you gotten complaints?" Clark asked as the key card was put into a slot under the call buttons and as the doors slid open and they all stepped on.

"That's a given Mr. Kent." The young man replied as the elevator doors closed smoothly. The car started to glide upward after he pushed the button for their floor. "But we get more people saying 'Thank You' because they appreciate what we do."

"Is this security measure figured into the cost of the room?" She asked and a glance from Clark warned her to be careful with her questions. _'I know that Clark.' _She told him with a tilt of her head and a slightly raised eyebrow.

It didn't seem to phase the bellman, so Lois figured he'd gotten the question more than once. "It is. But if it means that our guests are more secure against robberies or assaults, it's a cost they're willing to bear."

"That hasn't happened _here_, has it?" Clark stepped closer to her and tightened his grip on her hand. She had to admit that she liked his being overprotective.

"No. But as I said before, we've taken these measures preemptively so we don't have to learn the hard lessons that other hotels have had to."

_Make a note Lois; the Regent takes hotel security very seriously._

"Well we certainly appreciate that; don't we honey?" Lois smiled at Clark and as she expected, his face had flushed again.

"Yes we do, sweetheart." He smiled back at her. "Can't have anything happening to my bride."

"Or my groom." She tossed back and his face reddened even more.

'_You're cute when you blush, Smallville.'_

"Just so you know, our housekeepers start their day around eight o'clock." The young man told them. "Be sure to put out your 'Do Not Disturb' sign if you aren't ready to have your room cleaned, because they only knock once before they come in. We've found that it saves them and our guests a lot of embarrassment if the room is, uh, occupied."

_That's not something _their_ housekeeper will need to worry about. _

The elevator car came to a slow stop and when the doors opened, she and Clark followed the bellman down the hall and came to a stop in front of a set of double doors. He slipped the key card into the lock and handed the card back to Clark before he opened the door and walked ahead of them into the room.

She felt Clark's hand on her elbow stopping her, and when Lois looked up at him, she wondered what he was waiting for. Oh yeah, _that_. "Should I do the honors?" He asked her quietly.

"As long as you put me down once we get in there." She teased him, wondering how he would answer as he got an arm around her back and caught her behind her knees to pick her up.

"If you insist." He smiled back as Lois looped her arms around his neck and he carried her into the room.

"Now why would I do that?" She caught his eye just before she kissed him. "I kind of like where I am."

Her words were more for the benefit of the unsuspecting bellman, but in truth; she really did like where she was, safe in his arms.

"So do I." Came his breathless answer before he kissed her back.

_Oh my god._

He kept one arm around her waist as he dropped her gently to her feet and got his other arm around her, all the while continuing to kiss her.

It was such a contrast to her, being held against such a solidly built body and yet his lips on hers were soft and warm, but very insistent that she kiss him back.

So she did, gladly.

The surreptitious clearing of a throat gave Lois a start because she suddenly realized that she and Clark weren't alone. She pulled back enough so she could look at him and he had such a sweetly bemused look on his face.

_He's in love with you Lois, of course he does._

She had that urge again to brush her fingers against his lips, but refrained from doing it. Why start something they couldn't finish?

"I've put your suitcases in the bedroom." Lois turned toward the bellman, standing in front of a pair of French doors and he was valiantly trying not to grin. "If you'll give me one more moment, I'll show you where everything is."

"Thank you." It took Clark a couple of tries after he cleared his throat to get the words out and Lois stepped out of his embrace, only to have him take her hand. He was making it plain that he wasn't about to let her go, and she knew it didn't have anything to do with playing a part.

"This is a wood burning fireplace, not gas." He pointed out the generously sized fireplace to them. "There is plenty of wood and kindling and we replenish it every day. You're welcome to build it yourself or have someone from the staff come up and take care of it for you."

"I think Smallville can handle it." Lois smiled up at him. "I think he can handle anything."

_You did _not_ just say that. _

But all he did was smile back at her. A wonderful, wide, happy smile.

"If you'd like to eat in your room at any time this week, room service is available. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the bedroom."

They glanced at each other nervously because they'd never discussed what they were going to do about that particular situation.

But what a room it was.

A large king sized bed dominated the room that included a small love seat, two overstuffed chairs and a six-drawer dresser with a large mirror that spanned the length. Each side of the bed had a nightstand and lamp and Lois couldn't remember ever seeing such elegance in a hotel room.

She got the feeling again of stepping back into another era, but also felt very much the rough and tumble general's daughter; out of place.

"The bathroom is through here." They followed him. "We provide double sinks, a tub and shower and the towels are changed out everyday.

"There are two sets of doors, one here in the bedroom and the other in the sitting room that open up onto a balcony. A table and chairs are out there for your use. We've had guest's sit out there in the morning and watch the sun come up while they're having their morning coffee."

_Amazing._

"Is this something that's only for honeymooners, or are all of your rooms this well appointed?" Lois asked as she and Clark followed the bellman back out to the sitting room.

"This _is_ a special room, Mrs. Kent." He walked to the door and turned around. "We obviously can't give all of the _Regent_'s guest's rooms like this. But the level of service from the staff, for anyone who stays here, for any length of time is just the same.

"It's a commitment we make to be sure that this is as much a home away from home as possible. And it's worked for us because we have more guests return _here_ than any other hotel in Metropolis."

It was a point of pride with him and in Lois' mind it should have been. Clark stepped forward and she saw him press a bill into his hand. "Thank you."

"Thank you Mr. Kent." He smiled. "If you and your wife are interested, dinner tonight is to welcome all the guests that have checked into the hotel during the week. It's a casual event, so you won't need to change into a suit. Sunday dinner is usually more formal, so you'll need to dress accordingly.

"If you need anything pressed or laundered, please don't hesitate to call the front desk and we'll arrange for laundry service."

"We really appreciate this." Lois stood next to Clark, her hand still in his.

"You're welcome Mrs. Kent." There it was again, _Mrs. Kent_. "It's all a part of what we like to call the _Regent_ experience. Dinner is at 6:30 or if you prefer, you're welcome to call room service and have dinner here. It's totally up to you."

"We'll keep that in mind." Clark told him.

"Have a nice evening and a nice stay." He nodded and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Can you believe this set up?" Lois turned a circle to take in the elegance. "This is just, wow."

"I feel like a farm boy from Smallville." Clark walked the length of the room. "I've never seen a room like this. And that bedroom? It's almost as big as the living room at home."

_The bedroom. _They had to talk about that.

"Clark."

"I know." He nodded because he must have been thinking about it too. "We can't exactly call for a rollaway bed, can we?"

"You wouldn't fit on it anyway." She tried to make a joke. "And being the gentleman that you are, you wouldn't ask _me_ to sleep on it."

"You sure about that?" He asked her with a straight face.

"You try it and I'll have to tell your mother." She answered him. "And you know I'd do it too."

"I know Lois." He smiled with a shake of his head. "I could always sleep out here on the couch. I'm used to that."

"You're funny." Lois gave him a pointed look. "Considering that you haven't had to sleep on a couch since I lived with your family."

"Point taken." He kept smiling.

She had the obvious solution to their problem, but knew Clark wouldn't go for it; not with the way he felt about her. "Is there anything that says we can't share the bed?"

And the look he gave her was just what she expected. _'Are you serious?'_

"Did you get a look at how big that bed _is_?" She pointed toward the bedroom. "We could each roll over and still have room to spare."

He glanced toward the other room and sighed. "I don't know."

"You heard it for yourself, the housekeeper starts early. So do you want to take the chance of being discovered on the couch and blowing our cover?"

"I guess not." He sighed again. "But I think I've got another idea."

"Let's hear it." She asked, wondering what he was thinking.

"I'll sleep on the floor." He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and rolled his eyes. He looked like someone who was being backed into a corner and she hadn't meant for him to feel that way.

Lois was dubious; but it _was_ his decision. "If you'd rather do that, then it's what you should do."

_If you really believe that, why are you so disappointed?_

"I just never thought we'd ever be in a situation like this." It seemed to her that he was apologizing. "I never thought we'd ever be in a place like _this_."

"I should have thought twice about suggesting it." She admitted. "Knowing the way you feel about me."

"Lois, I would have been unsure about it no matter how I felt about you." He grasped her elbows. "It just complicates things knowing how I _do_ feel."

"It only complicates things if you think you can't trust yourself, or me." She put her hands on his chest and he pulled her close. "I know you trust me and I trust you, but if you'd be more comfortable on the floor, then that's where you need to sleep."

"I might regret that decision after a night or two." He laughed softly and shook his head again.

"Well, my offer stands if you think you can keep your hands off me." Her arms slipped around his waist and she held him.

"That's asking a lot Lois." He stroked her back and the motion of his hand lulled her. "Because I can't seem to do it standing in the middle of the room."

"And that's a bad thing?" She rubbed her cheek against his chest. "Because I kind of like it."

"So do I." She felt his cheek on her hair and his hand continued to move against her back. "Lois?"

"Mm-hmm?"

She felt him take a deep breath. "I'm glad you wore that dress."

Lois was wondering if he would even remember it. But apparently he had, and she smiled. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"You remember when I wore this? You got drunk as a skunk." He laughed again and he hugged her. "In all the years I've known you, I think that was the first time I'd ever seen you in such bad shape."

"Would you explain to me exactly _how_ someone figured out how to get a skunk drunk and how they could tell when it was?" She leaned back in his arms. "Would _you_ know if you saw a drunk skunk?"

His answer to that was to keep laughing and hug her to him again. "What would I do without you in my life?"

"You wouldn't be standing in the middle of the honeymoon suite of the _Regent Hotel _working on a story, that's for sure." She held him close, never feeling so secure before in a man's arms. But they hadn't been Clark's, so that made all the difference.

"You're right about that." Lois felt him nod. "I'd be plowing under one of the fields, or cleaning out the horse stalls, or nailing down loose shingles on the roof-"

It was Lois' turn to laugh. "You do that anyway."

"I know." He sounded a little defensive. "But it's not my job anymore. Now it's something I _choose_ to do because I love that place."

"I know you do Clark, I do too." She confessed and it was Clark's turn to pull back in her arms.

"I knew it." He smiled at her. "You would never admit how much the farm means to you. Even when you were out there all the time and you tried to get me to invite you to live there."

_Damn. _He was right.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself Smallville." She tried to regain the upper hand. "It's because of your mom."

"Mom?" He wasn't buying it and raised his eyebrows in doubt. "You seem to forget that my mother hasn't lived in Smallville for over two years. So it seems to me that there could only be one other reason."

"She may not live there any more, but she _does_ come home when she can."

"If you say so Lois." He kept smiling at her. "But I _know_ there's another reason."

"Okay I confess. It's Shelby." She tossed back and oddly began feeling out of her depth. She wasn't used to Clark getting the better of her.

But that really wasn't a bad thing.

"Well now that we're here, why don't we get unpacked and then decide what we're going to do." He suggested. "Maybe we could take a walk around the hotel."

"We could." She pulled out of his arms and turned toward the double doors that led out to the balcony. She took off her coat and tossed it on the couch as she walked toward the doors and once she got there, opened them. "But we _are_ supposed to be on a honeymoon."

A breeze was blowing as she stepped outside and listened to the noise of the city. It was in such stark contrast to the quiet of the farm and the difference was almost jarring.

She started when she felt Clark's hands on her arms, skimming them gently; his chest pressed close against her back. "You realize that if we really _were_ on a honeymoon, we wouldn't be standing out here on a balcony."

"Really." She felt her face heat with an anticipation a bride would have been feeling and leaned against him. "Where exactly would we be?"

_She couldn't resist._

"Not here." As bold as he could be, he _was_ still that shy boy at times who was too bashful to tell her what he really meant.

"That's okay." She put her head back on his shoulder and caught his eye. "Because I'm pretty happy where I am at the moment."

"So am I." And to prove it he kissed her.

Lois had to admit that it was what she'd hoped he would do because kissing him wasn't like kissing any other man she'd known. When he kissed her, she got the sense that he was trying to please her, more than himself.

And in pleasing her, it made him happy.

_Typical Smallville. _Trying to make everyone _else_ happy. But at least in this case, he was making him_self_ happy too, whether he realized it or not.

She pulled back from him only long enough to turn around and get her arms around his neck. It took him a moment to realize what she was doing because he refused to let her move.

But when it dawned on him that she only wanted to hold him, he loosened his embrace to let her move and then his arms closed tight around her again.

He wasn't about to let her go.

'_I love you.' _She held him close, wishing she could work up the courage to tell him how much he meant to her.

"What?" She heard his startled whisper and his body began to shake against hers.

_Oh, god. _Did she say that out loud?

"Lois?" Clark whispered again. "What did you just say?"

"What?" There was no way in hell she was going to repeat it. _She couldn't._

He got a hold of her arms and pried them gently from around his neck to set her away from him, but she couldn't look at him. She closed her eyes and felt a tear roll down her cheek in humiliation.

She hadn't been ready to tell him.

But in an unguarded moment, she'd let slip the one thing she didn't want him to know. Not yet. Not until she'd gotten more comfortable with the idea and had had the chance to adjust to the idea of his loving her.

"It's okay Lois." He pulled her back into his arms and as he held her, one of his hands stroked her back in a gentle motion, trying to soothe her. "It's okay."

She shook her head. _'No it's not, because I do.'_

He apparently tried to use humor to get her to relax and she sensed it. _He really was too sweet to her. _"It's okay Lois. I won't hold it against you."

'_Thanks Smallville, I feel _so_ much better.'_

"You realize that you _are_ sleeping on the floor now." She finally managed to find her voice and couldn't stop trembling. _He knew._

"I know." He laughed softly and continued to skim his hand up and down her back. "I figured it was a given after that."

"Clark?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not sorry about it, I just wasn't ready to say it." It was important to her that he know that.

"I understand."

"I know." She nodded. "When I say it again, I promise I won't cry."

"Well- happy tears wouldn't be a bad thing." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "It's a rare experience to have a crying Lois Lane in my arms."

"Smallville, up until a few days ago it was a rare experience for you to have me in your arms, period."

"That's true." He agreed with her. "But I like the fact that we've started to change that."

"Me too." _You might as well tell him Lois. _"I feel safe."

"I hope I can always make you feel that way Lois." She felt his cheek on her hair. "Because you _need_ someone to keep you safe."

Her first instinct was to tell him that she could damn well keep herself safe, but just as quickly she decided not to. Because deep down, she knew she had a knack for finding trouble. Or did trouble find her?

In the end it didn't matter because she knew Clark would always be there to bail her out.

Just like he always had.


	10. To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

_She was warm, her skin was soft and her touch electrified him. _

_The feel of her body surrounding his, cradling his in the most intimate way possible was every dream he could have ever hoped for, come true. _

_They moved together with a rhythm that was as old as time, but with her it was uniquely theirs because he knew without a doubt in his mind that she was the love of his life._

_She was the unexpected surprise that had turned his quiet world upside down and made him happier than he ever thought he would be, or could be._

A sleepy pair of soft gray eyes were watching him when he woke with a start because her fingers were gently brushing his lips. She was laying at the very edge of the bed and her arm was outstretched so she could touch him.

She moved them into his hair, brushing the messy mop back from his face and Clark reached up to bring them back to his lips so he could kiss the pads of her fingers.

He wanted to say something to her, but the intimacy of the moment discouraged it. He was just content looking up at her sleep tousled hair that had spilled over the side of the mattress and the soft smile on her face.

He'd never seen her look so content. And it crossed his mind in a flash how content might she look if they were actually in the bed, together?

"Hey Sleepyhead." She whispered and her face flushed. How long had she been watching him?

"Hey." He answered with a smile of his own. "Gloating over the fact that I had to sleep on the floor?"

"You never _had_ to sleep on the floor Smallville." She smiled back at him and he was aware of the fact that her fingers had begun to trace his jaw line. "I did offer you half the bed."

"Lois, I've seen the way you sleep." He felt his face warm from her touch against the early morning stubble and it created a friction that made his stomach clench. He was also a little embarrassed because he didn't think she knew that he'd ever seen her asleep in his bed, when she'd lived with him and his parents. "And you don't share."

"I still don't." She continued to brush her fingers against his skin. "But for a certain farm boy turned reporter, I could think about it."

"Do you think that's such a good idea?" _Are you kidding? _

"When have I ever had a bad idea?" A questioning eyebrow went up.

"Where would you like me to start?" He laughed and reached up to brush a single fingertip across her cheek.

"Name one."

"Stiletto." _You _would_ think of that first. _

"It may not have been one of my better ideas Smallville." Her other eyebrow went up. "But that costume sure got _your_ attention."

He couldn't deny that, but-.

"It wasn't the costume Lois. It was the woman _in_ the costume."

"Yeah." Her fingers closed around his chin. "Just admit it Clark, you wanted to kiss me."

"No, that would be when I was zipping up your dress." He shook his head and was rewarded as her face flushed again. "You went under cover, without telling me, to expose that psychopath; bad idea number two."

"Going undercover, or not telling you?"

"Both." Clark assured her. "And who did you end up calling for help? _Me_." He struggled to sit up and as he did, Lois's eyes followed him.

_He could drown in those eyes._

"As long as you're always there to answer the phone we won't have any problems then, will we?" She told him as she reached up and ran her hand down his cheek. And even though she couldn't say it again, just yet, Clark could see in her eyes how much she really did love him.

"As long as you're always there to call me, we won't have any problems." He answered just before he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

"I think you can do a little bit better than that." She whispered as he pulled away a moment later.

"You think so?" His gaze was helplessly drawn to her damp lips and without another thought, his own found them again.

Her kisses were becoming an addiction, of that he was certain. The way she pressed her lips into his, caressing his warmth with her own and the sound of her rushing heartbeat in his ears was music he'd never heard before. And the reason was simple.

It hadn't been her until now.

He'd never been in love like this, until now.

And at the moment, his heart was telling him where he really wanted to be. Lois's arms were telling him the same thing as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled.

_But still- _

"Lois."

"No talking." She shook her head. "Just get up here, now."

"Lois." He shook his head, it was happening too fast. "We can't."

"Get over yourself Smallville." She laughed softly. "That's not what I want you for."

"Then-" If she didn't want that, then what _did_ she want?

"You looked so uncomfortable last night, sleeping down there." Her expression turned serious. "And I _felt_ bad because you thought you needed to be the gentleman and guard my virtue, or something."

_She had a point. _

"Clark, we're big kids now." She grasped his chin again. "And I think you are so sweet to want to protect me. But I can tell you right now that nothing is going to happen in this bed that I don't want to happen. Are we clear on that?"

He didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

"Clark?"

He nodded. "We're clear."

"Good." She let him go. "So stop being such a Pollyanna and get that six and a half feet of handsome in this bed."

That made him smile. "Six and a half feet-"

And she rolled her eyes.

_He loved it when she did that. _

"Give or take." Lois smiled at him again and he couldn't help the deep breath he found himself taking as Lois blushed when he stood up.

It was still so odd to realize that he had such an effect on her. That she wanted to be close to him as she scoot over and made room for him. He pulled the blankets back and sat down on the edge of the bed, hesitating. It didn't matter that nothing was going to happen, he'd never shared a bed with her before.

He covered himself with the blankets after he stretched out in the spot where Lois had just been and he caught the faint scent of her perfume. The soft floral scent got him to close his eyes with pleasure just before he was startled with the epicenter of that scent suddenly snuggled against his side.

"Don't say anything Smallville, just enjoy it." Lois sounded almost irritated and Clark wasn't sure what he might have said to cause it.

"Why don't you close your eyes and go back to sleep?" He suggested gently as he turned his head to look at the red numbers of the digital clock. It was still early, but it was later than he was used to getting up. And Lois not being the morning person that he was, she would probably sleep for another couple of hours. So that made it a cinch as to where _he_ was going to stay.

"Don't think that just because we're pretending to be married, you can tell me what to do." She rubbed her cheek against his chest as he ran a hand down her back.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He promised her with a smile. "Dad never tried with Mom, so why should I be any different."

"They were actually married." Her voice was growing faint and Clark knew she was going back to sleep. "We're not."

"A technicality." He told her quietly.

"I miss them." Her voice had dropped to a whisper.

"I know you do Lois, I do too." He whispered back so he wouldn't keep her awake. "Go back to sleep."

"Clark." She protested his order.

"Please." He amended. "If you don't get enough sleep, you'll take it out on me."

"-t's true." Her voice was barely audible as he felt her warm body against his completely relax and he knew she was asleep.

The feel of her in his arms, knowing she was safe, lulled him back to sleep until the urgent knocking on the door of the suite woke him again. He glanced down at Lois, but her deep breathing told him she was still sleeping.

He dropped a kiss on her hair and eased himself from under her body, trying not to wake her. He made sure she was covered, hoping that his warmth would somehow stay with her.

He ran a hand through his rumpled hair and padded out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He walked through the sitting room and to the double doors, where he unlocked one and opened it.

_Chloe?_

She had a look of irritation on her face as she shouldered her way in and he murmured with a sigh as he let her. "Come on in."

"Imagine my surprise when Tess Mercer tells me that she's put you and Lois up in the Honeymoon Suite of the _Regent Hotel_." She stopped and turned to face him with a look of accusation. "Do you want to explain to me why you're playing house with my cousin?"

"We're not playing house Chloe." He explained to her and felt a wave of irritation bubble up. Chloe was his friend and Lois's cousin, but she was making an assumption about what they were doing there and that irritated him even more. "We're here on assignment."

"What kind of assignment would Tess give you that would put you _here_?" She asked and Clark saw her eyes travel down to his ring finger. "And having you wearing your father's wedding ring?"

He ignored her remark as he glanced toward the bedroom and then back at Chloe with a frown. "Would you keep your voice down, she's still sleeping."

"And should I ask where _you_ slept?" She folded her arms across her chest, a stance he was familiar with, with Lois.

"Why are you here?" He deflected the question because it wasn't any of her business.

Their friendship hadn't been the same since Jimmy died and Clark knew she resented him for not taking the Legion ring and going back to save him as she'd asked him to do. And though she'd never said it, she seemed to resent him further because it was Lois that was partly responsible for bringing Clark Kent back, not their long standing friendship.

But the fact of the matter was, Clark didn't trust her anymore. And that was something he never thought he'd ever think about someone he'd once considered his best friend.

And as far as what was happening between him and Lois, he'd made the choice to keep it to himself. Mom was the only one who'd pretty much figured out what was going on, but even she didn't know everything.

Part of him still thought about sharing it with his friend, but they weren't in that place anymore, so he didn't. What Lois might have told her, he had no idea.

"Where did you sleep?" Chloe persisted.

"Lois and I worked it out." Was all he would tell her and he could see that she didn't like his answer. "And you still haven't told me why you're here."

"I'm here because Lois is my cousin and I don't want to see her get hurt." She answered him. "Because you have this bad habit of stepping on her heart."

_Not any more._

"We've worked that out too." He replied, choosing not to fill her in on the details.

"And that's it?" She didn't like that answer either. "That's all you have to say?"

"Keep your voice down." Clark asked her again; hoping that Lois was sleeping through it. "It's between us, Chloe."

"What exactly _is_ between you Clark?" She stepped back and had an incredulous look on her face.

_More than you know. _

"Clark."

"Chloe, you really need to go now." He didn't like being rude, but he was supposed to be a groom on his honeymoon and he shepherded her toward the door. "As far as the _Regent_ knows, Lois and I are newlyweds and someone's going to get suspicious if they see you here."

"If this is _just a story_-" Her sarcastic emphasis made him want to roll his eyes, but he didn't. "then why are you wearing Mr. Kent's ring?"

"I've called room service." Clark started from the sound of Lois's sleepy voice coming from the doorway of the bedroom. And when he turned to face her, she was leaning against the doorjamb in one of his tee shirts.

His face warmed as he took note of her long legs that were covered to mid-thigh and had to admit that the shirt looked a heck of a lot better on her.

And then he wondered how much of the conversation she'd heard.

"We've got a lot of ground to cover today." Lois continued and Clark saw her give Chloe a look he'd never seen before. It was one of barely restrained anger; _she'd heard everything._ "And since the _Planet_ is footing the bill for all of this, I ordered everything on the breakfast menu."

"And who do you think is going to eat all of it?" He smiled at her.

"I have faith in you Smallville." She smiled back at him as she pushed herself away from the doorframe. "And I'll be here to help, so it won't go to waste."

"That is if you leave anything for me." He shot back with a grin. "Mom always did say that you had a healthy appetite. I call it-"

"Don't even think about saying it." She put her hands on her hips and couldn't have been aware that the hem of his shirt hiked up, showing him more of her shapely legs. But he also saw the hem of a pair of shorts underneath.

_Seriously?_

He must have looked as disappointed as he felt because one of Lois's eyebrows went up slowly. "If you'll wait out here for room service, I'm going to take a shower."

"Would it be pointless to ask you not to use all the hot water?" He wondered as Lois headed back to the bedroom.

"Completely." She stopped and smiled at him again before she went back inside. "Bye Chlo."

And she closed the door.

It was the first time since he'd known Lois that she'd been even remotely rude to her cousin. She'd barely acknowledged that Chloe was there, which told him that she was a lot more upset than she was letting on.

He looked at the door she'd just closed and it took every ounce of strength and resolve not to follow her and take her back to that king sized bed and show her how much he loved her. It startled him to realize just how much he wanted to make love with her because he'd never felt that way before.

"I guess I have my answer." Chloe's sharp tone hurt him because she couldn't see how happy Lois made him. "I never realized what a tease she could be."

"Don't talk about Lois like that." Clark sighed as he turned to face his irritated friend.

"Did you know that Oliver still loves her?" She told him something he already suspected. "He still carries her picture in his wallet."

_How would she know something like that?_

"Lois meant a lot to him." Clark told her with a shrug.

"Should I ask if you still carry a picture of Lana?"

"No you shouldn't." He shook his head, not willing to tell her that he'd found a long forgotten picture of his ex-girlfriend in his wallet and had put it away in a photo album, with his other memories.

He'd finally and literally and with more ease than he would have ever thought possible, closed the book on Lana.

That chapter was finally finished and he'd never felt more ready to move on with his life. And he knew that there was only one woman he wanted to move on with.

Lois.

The question was, would she be willing to move on with him?

"Have you stopped to consider that while you're playing at being a reporter, the Blur isn't out protecting the people of Metropolis?"

_Did she just say- _

"Playing at being a reporter?" Clark was stunned. "I'm not playing Chloe, I _am_ a reporter."

"You're Kal-El." She shook her head in disagreement. "I thought we agreed that Clark Kent is the disguise you have to use so people don't know who you really are."

_He couldn't believe it. _Was that really how Chloe saw him?

Didn't she see her friend Clark Kent anymore, the guy she'd known since the eighth grade?

"We didn't agree to anything like that." He was mindful that Lois was in the next room and kept an eye on the bedroom door. "You were the one that said Kal-El needed his human disguise Chloe, not me. And the thing is, Clark Kent isn't a disguise."

"Jor-El didn't send you to Earth to be a reporter Clark, or flash those puppy dog eyes at my cousin. He sent you here to save the world."

"He sent me here to save my life." Clark countered. "I would have died on Krypton with them if he hadn't."

'_And I never would have met Lois.' _He added silently. _'Or had such great parents.'_

"You can't let Lois distract you from what he wants you to do." Chloe grabbed his arm. "You finally got serious about your training and you can't let all of this-" She made a sweeping gesture of the room with her free hand. "stop you from what you know you need to do."

"I'm not letting it stop me Chloe; I _can_ be Clark and the Blur." He gently pulled her hand off of his arm. "I haven't given up on my training with Jor-El, but I can't give up on being Clark Kent either."

"For _her_, you mean." She folded her arms across her chest again and frowned at him. "Do you have any idea how that feels? To know that someone who I thought was my best friend chooses my cousin over me?"

How was he supposed to answer that without revealing to Chloe that he was in love with her cousin? He couldn't exactly tell her that he _had_ chosen Lois.

"Or do you even care?"

"Chloe." Their discussion was going in circles.

"Never mind." She seemed to realize the same thing and closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "Don't worry, I'm leaving. Can't be responsible for blowing your cover."

In years past, this would have been when Clark apologized and tried to make it up to her any way that he could. But he didn't feel the need to apologize to her now because she was interjecting herself into a situation that wasn't any of her business.

"I appreciate that."

"And I hope you appreciate how important the Blur is to Metropolis." Chloe walked to the door and put her hand on the knob. "This city needs him more than you need Lois."

And she was gone.

He closed the door behind her and locked it. Had she always been like that and he was just now noticing it? Had she always seen Lois as someone she needed to compete with?

_Was Chloe ever the girl he thought she was?_

He turned for the bedroom, even though Lois had asked him to wait for room service and opened the door. The door to the bathroom was closed and he could hear the water from the shower. So he walked to the bed and lay back down, laced his fingers across his stomach and closed his eyes.

He could still smell her perfume and it soothed him, knowing she'd been where he now was. And it comforted him further to know that she was close by.

His body relaxed and Clark could feel himself falling back asleep, until he felt a gentle hand in his hair. "Has she always talked to you like that? Like you're a five-year-old?"

Lois' soft voice got him to open his eyes and she was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her other hand covered his and her thumb rubbed his fingers in a gentle motion.

"There _have_ been times when I've needed it." He told her honestly and noticed that she was dressed in a casual sweater and jeans. Her damp hair was loose and he caught a whiff of her shampoo.

"That's what your mother is for Clark." Lois shook her head.

"Mom's not here." He shrugged and couldn't help but wish that she was.

"But _I_ am." A slow smile crept across her face and Clark felt his flush; she really was beautiful. "And if anybody is going to bust your chops, it's going to be me. But I don't think you'd mind."

_You have to tell her something._

"She worries about you." Clark sighed. "Chloe, I mean. She thinks I'm going to hurt you."

"Chloe's always been a worrier, ever since we were kids." She explained. "She forgets sometimes that I can take care of myself; the General made sure of that."

He reached up and brushed his fingers against the soft skin of her cheek. "Lois, have I ever hurt you? I mean really hurt you?"

"Clark." She shook her head. "It's not important."

She was waiving him off and he knew a Lois Lane defense mechanism when he saw it; but he needed to know. "I'd never deliberately hurt you, I hope you know that."

"I know." She nodded. "The thing about Chloe is that she can be a mother hen sometimes and, like this morning, she went way overboard."

"She loves you."

"And I love her too." Lois told him. "But it doesn't mean she can treat you like a child."

"Things have been hard for her since Jimmy died."

"I know that too." She conceded his point. "But she's been taking it out on you and I don't like it. What happened to Jimmy shouldn't have happened because Davis Bloom was a psychopath and should have been locked up. Instead, he was roaming the streets of Metropolis killing people."

Clark knew it wasn't as simple as that, but he couldn't exactly tell her that.

"And Jimmy ended up paying the price." He sighed again and then closed his eyes because they began to tear and he didn't want Lois to see it. "After everything that happened to him, he deserved better."

"Yeah, he did." She kept stroking his hair and her touch sent a thrill through him. Was it possible to keep falling more deeply in love with her? "But you know what? He had you as a friend and I know how much he appreciated that."

"I just wish-" _that I could have saved him._

"Don't say it Clark." Lois read his mind and he felt her lips on his cheek. "You have such a big heart and you care about people more than any one else I know. But even that big heart can't save everyone."

That was a lesson he was still having a hard time learning.

His abilities gave him the chance to make a difference and help those who couldn't help themselves and it was those that he _couldn't_ help that bothered him so much.

Clark felt the bed dip and he opened his eyes just in time to see Lois climb over him. She stretched out next to him, tucked her head under his chin and sighed as she put her hand over his heart. "I don't think I've said thank you yet."

"For what?"

"For giving me your heart." She leaned back and waited for him to look at her. And when he did, she was smiling. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve it, but I'll always take care of it."

_Always?_

"Always is a long time Lois." He teased as he smiled back at her. "You think you can put up with me for always?"

"Do you think you can put up with _me_ for always?" She held his gaze.

"Longer than always." He promised her and she laughed softly.

"We'll see about that."

_Yeah, we will._


	11. The Newlywed Game

_Where in the hell was he?_

Lois looked at her watch and sighed. He'd gone back upstairs to their room because he'd forgotten his dad's watch and promised her he wouldn't be a minute; it had been fifteen.

It took less than five minutes to get upstairs and since he'd sworn he knew where the watch was, he should have been back in the lobby five minutes ago.

She looked at her watch again and sighed; _again_.

He'd been disappearing at the oddest moments during the last couple of days and Lois couldn't help but wonder if their close quarters was making him claustrophobic.

It seemed to be distracting him, that was for certain and she couldn't figure out why.

Maybe it was the fact that they were now sharing the bed. And maybe it was the fact that even though they started out the night, each on either side, she would invariably wake up at some point and find herself in the middle of the bed snuggled in his arms.

She had to admit that there was a certain feeling of security, having his arms around her and holding her close through the night. She'd never quite felt that way with Ollie because there were too many times when she would wake up in his bed only to discover that he'd left her.

_Ollie. _

What was she going to do about her leather clad ex who seemed to have abandoned Green Arrow? He was hurdling headlong into oblivion and she didn't know how to help him.

While they were eating breakfast that first morning, Clark told her that he'd already tried to talk to Oliver but he didn't think it had done much good. He'd also told her of Oliver's intention of asking her for a second chance.

And she'd told Clark that she was aware he was still carrying her picture around.

'_How can he move on with his life if he's hanging on to the past?' _

'_It's easy when you're not ready to let go.' It had sounded so simple and she knew he'd been right, but- _

'_You did.' _

'_But I was ready Lois, Oliver isn't there yet.' He'd reached across the table and taken her hand. 'It took me finally realizing that the right girl had been in front of me all this time before I was able to let go of Lana and all those feelings I had for her.'_

'_Toxic as they were.' She'd felt the need to point it out to him._

'_Very.' He'd agreed with a nod. 'But if I hadn't gone through all of that, I wouldn't have known real love when it found me.'_

'_You make it sound like you were lost.' _

'_I was Lois.' He'd given her a bashful smile. 'And lucky for me, you knew how to find me.'_

'_Just don't get lost again.' She squeezed his hand. _

'_I won't.' He promised her. 'Because I don't like being lost.'_

Where _was_ he?

She wandered out toward the lobby, keeping the elevators in view and ready to give him a piece of her mind when he got back downstairs.

But of course, the minute she took her eyes off the elevator he appeared at her side. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

"It was a watch Clark." She folded her arms across her chest. Those baby blues of his weren't getting him out of it so easily.

"I'm sorry." He implored her. "It wasn't where I thought it was."

_What was this? _

Lois reached up into his slightly tousled hair and pulled out a leaf, and then two. "How did you get leaves in your hair looking for your dad's watch?"

"I uh-" He hesitated for a moment. "After I found it I went out on the balcony to check the weather. It's a little windy out there."

"Windy." She looked at him and wasn't quite sure if she should believe him. "You couldn't just turn on the news to find that out?"

"It's the farmer in me." He shrugged and seemed to relax a little. "Dad always said the best way to find out what the weather was doing was to go stand out in it. That's why farmers always know when a tornado is coming because of the way the sky looks and the how the winds are blowing."

"A tornado." He was still such a dorky farm boy sometimes. "And you're late because you spotted a funnel cloud?"

"No." He brushed a rough hand through his hair, almost defensively and another leaf fluttered to the floor and he sighed. "I just thought if we were still going to go for a walk, it would be a good idea to see what the weather was doing."

"Clark, we don't have to go out now." Lois put her hand on his arm. "I just thought it would be a way to clear our heads because we haven't been outside these four walls since we got here."

"Not that anyone would consider that unusual." He grinned at her as his face flushed and he took her hand in his. She felt her own face warm at his smile because it was the first time he'd taken her hand since the night he'd given her his mother's engagement ring to wear. "But we've never taken a walk together and I thought it was about time."

She nodded her agreement, suddenly finding it impossible to say anything and that only made Clark smile more.

"I think I've rendered Lois Lane speechless." He teased her quietly as they walked through the lobby. "You know that's one of the signs of the Apocalypse."

"You're a funny guy Smallville."

"I must be if you're smiling." He wasn't phased by her words and she figured he wouldn't be because no one knew her as well as Clark did, not even her baby cousin. He tugged gently on her hand to keep her moving. "Come on, it's going to get too cold to go outside."

"I'm not worried, you'll keep me warm." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You're good at that, you know."

"Just doing my job." He kissed her cheek in return and then inclined his head to the outer doors. "What do you say?"

"Okay." And then she kissed him squarely on the mouth before she tugged on his hand to get _him_ moving, because his feet suddenly refused to move. His look of surprise made her smile even wider and then she laughed. "You're cute when your stunned."

He blinked a few times, trying to register what she'd just done before _he_ smiled and returned the favor. "I was never a big fan of surprises until now."

"I'll have to remember that." She felt her face warm even more when he grasped her fingers in a firm grip.

"I'm counting on it." And he kissed her again.

_Oh my- _

The feel of his solid body under her hands, his warm lips caressing hers and arms that seemed determined to keep her close made her knees start to shake and Lois wondered if they might not give out all together.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kent?"

Lois didn't know where the voice was coming from because she was too preoccupied with the feel of Clark's arms around her waist and his lips on hers to figure it out. Who knew that she would ever _want_ him so close to her? And how she was just beginning to understand what it meant to be kissed senseless.

Because he was doing it to _her_.

"I think we're being paged." She looked up into his smiling face and there was a sparkle in his eyes that she knew was just for her.

"It _would_ be kind of rude not to respond." He laughed softly as he turned them toward the desk clerk who had checked them in.

She seemed to be trying desperately to hold on to her professional demeanor and not smile. "I just thought you'd like to know about some things that are going to be happening in the next couple of days. Two of our guests are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary tomorrow and they've invited all the married couples to join them and their family to celebrate."

"Fifty years." Lois glanced up at the man posing as her husband. "That's a long time."

"With you it'll be an eternity." Clark teased her, knowing she'd object.

"You want to rephrase that?" She gripped his arm.

"No." He grinned. "Because an eternity isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"You're sure you don't want to rephrase that?"

_Don't smile Lois. _

"Again, no. Because you know exactly what I mean and you know it."

_She did. _

"If you'd like to join them, they've reserved the Grand Ballroom tomorrow evening at seven. It's not a formal event, but a suit and a cocktail dress would be appropriate."

"Smallville, you _did_ remember to bring your suit didn't you?" Lois put her hand on his chest and felt the strong, sure beat of his heart under her hand; a heart she knew that belonged to her.

"I did." He nodded. "Did you bring a dress?"

"Clark, the General may have drilled into me the need to pack light, but I didn't pack _that_ light." She feigned a frown.

"Which brings me back to my original question." He leaned close to her ear. "I hope you brought the gold one, I really like how you look in that."

"I know." She whispered back. "That's why I remembered it."

"Good." His voice nearly growled and Lois wondered if he was going to kiss her again; her heart beginning to race in anticipation.

"There's also something else I think the both of you would have some fun with." A gently clearing of a throat made Lois sigh softly. What would he think if she marched him back upstairs so they could make proper use of the bed? "One of the things we like to do with our couples is play a version of the 'Newlywed Game'.

_Was she kidding? _

"It's a fun way for our younger couples to see how well our older couples really know each other." She explained. "And it gives our older couples a chance to relive a little bit what it was like to be young marrieds."

"What do you say, Smallville? Are you up for the challenge?" Lois smiled at him as he tried to mask a sigh of his own.

"Would it matter if I wasn't?" He looked at her and his eyes were begging her not to get them involved. And she knew what she needed to do to get him to agree.

"If you love me as much as you say you do, you'll do it."

He sighed again and looked toward the lobby doors, then looked back at her. "Well, seeing as how I _do_ love you beyond reason, I guess I have to."

"I knew you 'd see it my way." She felt inordinately pleased with herself that he'd agreed and her face warmed at his public, and very real admission, that he loved her.

"Like you ever doubted it." He gave her a reluctant smile just before he kissed her cheek and then took her hand. "Let's go Mrs. Kent, before you talk me into something else."

_Mrs. Kent. _

"That doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, you know." She tossed his words back at him, with a raised eyebrow to mislead the desk clerk. But he surprised her by taking her up on her unspoken insinuation.

"It _is_ getting cold out there." He shrugged.

"And we haven't been out of this hotel since we got here, so march Mr. Kent." Lois gave his chest a gentle shove. "Cold or not, I need some fresh air."

"You need fresh air more than you need _me_?" He plastered a look of injured pride on his face. "I'm hurt."

"You _will_ be if you don't get moving." She pushed again and he brought a hand up to cover hers.

"Are you sure?" He gave her his best puppy dog look that very nearly did her in before he looked at the desk clerk. "We'll do it."

"It won't be as bad as you might think, Mr. Kent." She tried to reassure him.

"You don't know my wife." He said the word _'wife'_ so easily and Lois felt her heart flutter. "I just never know what she's going to say."

"I wouldn't be me if you did." She took his arm and gave him a cheeky smile.

"That's true." He conceded. "So where do we go to get ready for this?"

"If you like, we'll leave the questionnaires in your room and you can bring them down in the morning."

"And when would we be playing this game?" Lois asked.

"The day after tomorrow." She replied. "We'd like all of our couples to be in the main conference room about four."

"Won't this be fun?" She grabbed at his arm, playing the excited newlywed.

"I'm overwhelmed with excitement." He deadpanned.

"Come on Clark, you need to live a little." Lois slipped her hand down to his and grasped his fingers. "I promise that I won't embarrass you."

"Honey, you live to embarrass me." The unexpected endearment seemed to catch _him_ by surprise as much as it did her.

_Honey? _

"Well, that may be true." She tried to appear as though it was something she was used to. "But seeing as how we _are_ on our honeymoon, I'll try to control myself."

"I'd appreciate that." He sighed. "So are you still up for that walk?"

"Yes." Lois nodded and smiled at the desk clerk. "We'll be there."

"Very good. We look forward to seeing you." And she walked back to the front desk.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He looked so hesitant and Lois wanted to let him off the hook, but part of the reason they were going to play the game was so they could use it as part of their article.

_Keep telling yourself that Lois._

"It's part of the assignment Clark." She reminded him quietly as she tugged on his hand to get him to move toward the lobby doors. "It's our job to participate in as much of this as we can so we can write the article."

"I know, but-"

"It feels too much like a real honeymoon?"

"Something like that." He nodded. "It's not supposed to feel like that. Is it?"

"You said yourself that this whole thing would be a little awkward whether there were feelings or not. But because there _are_ feelings involved, it's making it reallyawkward."

He held the door open for her as she walked outside ahead of him and then took his arm when he followed. "Sharing the bed isn't helping."

She found herself smiling, though she knew she shouldn't have. "It _would_ make it easier if we could stay on our own sides of the bed, but we keep ending up together in the middle."

"It seems that it's where we want to be, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She agreed. "What do you think that means?"

"I think it means that we like being together, even when we're sleeping." It was an obvious statement, but carried with it implications she wasn't ready to consider.

"That makes things kind of dangerous then, doesn't it?"

"You said yourself that nothing would happen that you didn't want to happen." He stopped again and after he'd cleared his throat, sounded a little breathless. "Are you saying that you _want_ something to happen?"

"I'm not saying that." She shook her head and then took a deep breath. _Might as well just throw it out there Lois. _"But I'm not saying that I would object if you wanted to,"

The muscles in his arm tensed under her hand and she couldn't muster the nerve to look at him. She'd just opened the door to the possibility of something more happening between them and didn't know if he was ready for anything else.

She didn't know if _she_ was ready.

"Lois." His voice was a whisper, a very nervous whisper. "Are you ready for that?"

"Are you?" She whispered back, not sure if she wanted to know the answer; either way. _How do you get yourself into these things? _

"I asked first." He wasn't about to let her deflect his question. "Have you thought about that, with _me_?"

"Sort of. Not really." _Good one, Lois. _"You?"

"Sort of. Not really." He answered back and then started to shake. "What do you think we should to do about that?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "It's only been a few days since you told me you loved me. And it's kind of a leap to go from that to warming the sheets together."

"In case you hadn't noticed, we already are."

_Was he laughing? _

She looked up at him and he was smiling at her. "Clark."

"What? We are." He was far too amused for her liking. "I mean, we're obviously not doing anything, but we are most definitely sharing a bed."

"Which is going to change tonight."

"Lois." He sighed. "Don't be like that."

"Like what?" She stepped away from him and immediately felt the chill of the early fall evening as she planted her hands on her hips. "Like me?"

He stepped back and put his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Just remember, you said that."

"But you were thinking it."

"Lois." He looked genuinely hurt as he dropped his hands. "I wasn't."

"I know." Lois had to admit it to him and she nodded as she reached out for his hand. "So much has happened that I think I'm still trying to process all of it."

"So am I." He closed his fingers around hers and pulled her gently forward. "That's why I think this walk was a good idea because it can give us a chance to talk, if you want to."

"Or it can give us a chance to just be together outside of those four walls."

"That too." He agreed. "Tell me if you get too cold and we'll go right back."

"You're sweet for worrying." Lois reached up with her free hand to stroke his cheek. "But as long as I have my big, strapping farm boy with me, I won't get cold."

"Farm boy turned reporter, remember?" He chided her, but she knew he hadn't taken offense.

"Whatever."

"Come on Lois." He laughed softly. "Even _you_ have to admit that I'm a pretty good reporter."

"Don't fish Smallville." She gave him a pointed look. "You know that I think you're good and getting better; with _my _help, of course."

"Of course." He pulled her close to him and they continued to walk.

He had a possessive streak that was starting to show. And though Lois had always had an aversion to overly possessive men, she had to admit that she liked the idea of Clark staking his territory.

Because that's exactly what he was doing.

She might just have to let him do it.


	12. An Eternity with Her

It had been a close call, closer than he would have liked.

Lois was supposed to have been downstairs waiting for him because they'd planned on checking out the lunch buffet. The _Regent_ had a reputation of having the best selections and the freshest food of any hotel in Metropolis and she'd insisted that they check it out. All in the name of gathering information for their story, of course.

But Clark knew that Lois was determined to make Tess pay, literally, for giving her a fluff piece. He didn't take it personally, though, because she'd made it abundantly clear to him that he was the one perk in the whole thing,

_He was a perk. _

Clark couldn't help but feel a particular masculine pride over that.

As they were getting ready to leave the room, he'd heard a cry for help and knew that he needed to get Lois out of there so he could Blur to the rescue. He'd told her he would meet her in the lobby because he couldn't find his wallet and her look was understandably dubious. But after she'd extracted a promise from him that he wouldn't be long, she'd left him alone.

But when he Blurred from that situation to another unexpected crisis, he realized that he shouldn't have made a promise to her that he was going to have trouble keeping.

And it nearly gave him away.

He should have known that she would come back to get him when he'd taken too long and after leaping up to the balcony of their room, he panicked when he saw her closing the door and looking at her watch.

_You're a dead man._

With a burst of super speed, he was back in his street clothes and he ran a hand through his hair, making sure to dislodge any bits of leaves he may have missed with his hairbrush because she'd be sure to find them. He then checked his back pocket to make sure that he had his wallet.

He walked out of the bedroom as she was walking in and they nearly collided. The thunderous look on her face told him all he needed to know and he sighed quietly.

He was in trouble and for good reason.

"Do you realize how long I've been waiting down there for you, _again_?" She planted her hands on her hips the way she always did when she was upset, but all Clark could think about was how cute she looked.

Her face was flushed a pretty shade of pink and her voice had that sound of quiet irritation that gave it a sarcastic quality and all he wanted to do was kiss her.

But he was smart enough to know that doing that would be a very bad idea.

"If you didn't want to go with me, then why didn't you just say so?" She was oblivious to his musings about her and then _she_ sighed. "If you're having second thoughts about this assignment, then tell me."

"Lois, I'm not."

"Then what's with the disappearing acts in the last few days." She was looking at him, wanting answers. "Ever since we started sharing the bed-"

She grew quiet and Clark watched her uneasily, not sure what was going through her mind.

"That's it, isn't it?" She sounded hurt and he wasn't sure why.

"What's it?" _Good answer Clark, _he thought to himself as Lois's eyes began to tear and he grasped her elbows. He always felt out of his depth when she got emotional because he always seemed to say the wrong thing.

But she refused to answer him and only shook her head.

"Honey, please tell me what's wrong."

_Honey. _

The first time he'd used the endearment was for the benefit of the desk clerk. Lois had seemed to understand what he was doing and played along. But the truth was, he liked how it had sounded. He liked the way she'd looked at him when he'd said it and in a very real sense it had made her, his.

Clark knew Lois didn't go for the possessive types and he'd tried to refrain from being just that. But he couldn't seem to help himself with touching her whenever she was near.

He liked how it felt to hear her breath hitch when he got close and how her heart would skip a beat when his skin would brush hers. He was aware that he'd had that kind of effect on girls before, but there was something a little overwhelming in knowing that he'd come to have that effect on Lois.

"Clark Kent, don't you dare call me that." She managed to pull one of her elbows loose but Clark held on to the other and refused to relinquish it. "I'm no one's 'honey'."

"Lois, what did I do?" And the moment the words came out, he knew he'd just made things worse.

"You stood me up." She pulled her other elbow loose and walked back into the sitting room. "And to think I felt bad because you were sleeping on the floor."

"I only slept on the floor because you wouldn't let me sleep out here on the couch." He tried to stay calm because it wouldn't help things if they both got angry.

And then he realized something rather ridiculous as they stood at odds with each other; they were having their first 'married' fight.

Now if he'd given himself time to think about it, he probably wouldn't have done it. But the overwhelming urge to laugh struck him and he just decided to go with it. It felt good because no one but Lois could get him to laugh at a situation like they were currently in.

Heck, no one but Lois could really get him to laugh, period.

He was too serious and he knew that, never mind that Lois constantly called him on it. But it was her way of lightening the load of responsibility that he carried, even though she wasn't aware that she was doing it.

It crossed his mind, not for the first time, that it might be time to tell her about his Kryptonian heritage and his alter ego. He didn't like lying to her and he didn't like keeping things from her. But by telling her about where he came from, he was opening the door to something happening to her.

And his overriding concern was to keep her safe.

But what was it that he'd told Kara after he and Lois had come back from the Phantom Zone? _'All I've ever wanted to do was keep Lois away from my secret. But yesterday, that nearly got her killed.'_

He could have used Dad's advice right about then. But he had a pretty good idea of what his father would have told him. _'That's a decision only you can make, son.'_

And he would have been right.

"What's so funny?" Lois looked completely confused and a little irritated, but the look of hurt was gone.

"We're having our first fight as a married couple." He couldn't wipe the grin off of his face.

"Clark." Her face flushed and she backed away from him. "We're not-"

"Married." He finished for her. "I know. But this reminds me of a story Dad told me about the first fight he and Mom had after _they_ got married."

"You've been thinking about him a lot, haven't you?" She looked at him and then glanced down at his left hand. "I guess you would since you're wearing his ring."

"I hadn't planned on it." He tried not to sound defensive and as had become a nervous gesture, found himself twisting the ring on his finger. "When we were getting ready to leave the farm, I hadn't put the other ring on yet. And after I got his watch out of Mom's box, I saw the ring and decided to wear it instead."

"You've made this a lot more personal than it should have been." Her soft voice chided him.

"I love you Lois. It doesn't get more personal than that." He reached for her hands and she let him take them. "But maybe you're right because I _am_ wearing Dad's wedding ring and you're wearing Mom's engagement ring."

"If that rock that Tess wanted me to wear weren't so ugly, would you have offered it to me?"

"I don't think it would have crossed my mind if you hadn't said anything." He was honest and Lois blinked in surprise.

"Oh."

Talking to her was like walking through a minefield sometimes. You never knew when your words were going to blow up in your face. "But you _did_ say something Lois and I thought about Mom's ring. Even when I wasn't sure you would wear it."

"Thanks for calling her about that." She glanced up at him. "I wouldn't have been able to wear it if she hadn't said it was okay."

"Mom would do anything for you." He smiled at her and then pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Just like her son."

"Well, I think her son is pretty wonderful." She kissed him back. "But I still need to know something."

_The bed._

"Lois, I'm not having second thoughts about the assignment and I'm sorry if I keep disappearing on you. But it has nothing to do with our sharing the bed." He made sure that he had her full attention so she'd know he was sincere. "It's been the nicest part of this whole thing so far."

A look of pleased surprise crossed her face before she laughed and her irritation at him finally dissipated. "So am I going to have to hold your hand to make sure we make it down to the dining room together?"

"I wouldn't mind." He squeezed the hands he still held. "That's been the _second_ nicest thing about this whole thing."

"I know." She laughed again as he dropped one of her hands and she tugged on the other that still held hers. "Now let's get moving before lunch is finished."

"Moving." He sighed the sigh of a put upon husband that earned him a pointed look from the woman posing as his wife.

"Clark." Her eyebrow slipped up in question as they got to the door. "You do have your wallet, don't you?"

~*~

Clark and Lois had responded to the desk clerk that they would be at the anniversary celebration that evening.

And while Lois was in the bathroom getting ready, Clark stood in front of the dresser mirror trying to tie his tie. It should have been something he did without thinking because he did it every day. But he found that his hands were shaking and for the life of him couldn't remember which side of the tie needed to go over or under.

"You need some help with that Smallville?" The reason for his trembling hands and tie amnesia walked out from the bathroom and came to a stop next to him. Her eyes met his in the mirror and she looked too amused at his predicament.

She was wearing the gold dress he'd only seen her in once, but it had made an indelible impression on him and Lois had been well aware of it. The color suited her and the dress fit her in a way that flattered her trim figure.

"Here, face me." She grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him toward her.

'_I realize hand to eye coordination isn't one of your strong suits. Here-' She'd undone the badly knotted tie and pulled it from around his neck with a frown. 'Let me help you with that.'_

'_Lois, I'm not sure what I'm going to do without you.'_

He'd been sarcastic about it at the time, but now, he really didn't know what he'd do if he didn't have her in his life.

"It's been awhile since I've had to do this." She smiled at him and had to be remembering his graduation day. "You couldn't tie your own tie then either."

"Well, it's a little hard to do that when a beautiful woman is standing in front of you." He brushed his fingers across her flushed cheek and smiled with the knowledge that he could affect her that way. "I couldn't appreciate how beautiful you were then."

Her face was turning a bright red as she stared at his open collar, her hands grasping his tie. Now he knew how to stop her from talking, compliment her.

"Don't tell me you don't know that." He whispered as he took her by her arms and pulled her close. "I just wish I'd seen it sooner."

"Don't do that." Lois shook her head and gave his tie a hard jerk as she looked into his eyes. "Don't wish for something that we weren't ready for."

"Lois, are you ready for something now?" He searched her eyes for the answer. "With me?"

"Well it's not going to be with Ollie, so you're my only other option." Her head dipped as she tried to hide her smile and Clark felt his heart pick up a funny flutter in his chest. "Because I love _you_."

He was sure he must have been hearing things, but the hard beat of his heart that suddenly made it difficult to breathe, told him differently. "Lois?"

"You heard me." He could feel how badly she was shaking and knew it had cost her to admit it to him again.

"I heard you, but I'd like to hear it again." Clark encouraged her with a kiss in her hair. "Please?"

She leaned back in his arms and took a breath before she looked at him and smiled. "Call me 'honey' and I'll think about it."

"Tell me again that you love me and _I'll_ think about it."

'_Two can play at this game, Lois.'_

"That's blackmail."

He shook his head and brushed her lips with his. "Consider it an incentive."

"When did you get so stubborn?" She frowned playfully at him as she tugged on his still untied tie.

"The day I met you." He replied softly. "And you've been making me crazy ever since."

"It's what I live for." She was stalling, so there was only one thing he could do; give in.

_But he didn't mind._

"Lois, honey." He felt a grin spread across his face as his cheeks warmed. _He really liked saying that. _"I don't think you want me to beg."

"Not now, anyway." The answering blush on her own face made his heart skip a beat. "I love you Clark. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you."

"I've never loved anyone as much as I love you either Lois." He blinked as he felt tears begin to form in the backs of his eyes. "And I mean _any_one."

Clark knew that it wasn't necessary for him to say it, but he never wanted her to doubt that his heart belonged to anyone but her.

"I know." She nodded. "Besides, if any girl is foolish enough to make a play for you, she'll have to answer to me."

"They'd never stand a chance." He assured her. "Because they're not you."

Lois's eyes dropped to his open collar again and she drew in a shallow breath as she buttoned his collar button. And then taking the ends of his tie in her hands, she deftly tied his tie and slipped the knot into place.

"You're very good at that." He commented.

"Dad was all thumbs and Lucy was too young to help him, so I learned how so _I_ could." Her soft, breathy voice sent goose bumps down his arms.

"By putting the tie around your own neck." He smiled at the memory of her doing the same with him.

"I would stand at the mirror in the bathroom and try to remember how Mom always did it." She nodded. "It took me awhile. But I finally figured it out and once I got really good at it, I was able to help him."

"I'm sure he appreciated it." _He was so lucky to have her in his life. _"You helped your dad, you helped my parents and you help me every day." He knew what was coming and shook his head. "Don't say it."

"Don't say what Smallville?" She smiled brightly at him. "That I help you because you need it?"

"Something like that." Clark smiled back in amusement. He should have known that she wouldn't let it go. But Lois wouldn't be Lois if she had.

"Just as long as you realize that, we'll get along fine." She walked to the bed and picked up his suit jacket. "And we'll get along even better if we can get downstairs in the next ten minutes without you forgetting your dad's watch or your wallet."

"I think I can manage that." _He hoped._

"I'm counting on it. I'm counting on _you_." She gave him a look that pleaded with him to stay with her for the evening and then she handed him the jacket. He took it from her and shrugged into it, knowing there was only one choice he had, just for the night.

He also made the irrevocable decision to tell her, everything.

The question was when, and how?

"I'm all yours." _For always._

Lois picked up an evening bag from the dresser that matched her dress and walked out to the sitting room, tossing behind her, "And don't you forget it."

_Why would he want to? _But still-

"As if you'd let me." He laughed and followed her out as he buttoned up his jacket.

"Sarcasm doesn't become you Clark." She turned to him with a soft smile and patted his tie.

"You don't seem to mind." He put a hand over hers and softly brushed her knuckles with his thumb. "Do you?"

"Well, it's a lot more interesting than your 'Yes, Ma, yes. Pa' routine." She shrugged. "Sometimes you're just too nice for your own good."

"But I'll bet it's one of the things you really love about me." He grasped her fingers and brought the pads to his lips and kissed them.

"I really love it when you do _that_." She admitted with reddened cheeks and she brushed those fingers against his lips as the flutter of her heart echoed in his ears.

He wasn't sure how long they stood and looked at each other, neither willing to break the eye contact. So by mutually silent consent, Lois dropped her hand and Clark put his on the middle of her back to propel her toward the door. And as he opened it and waited for her to precede him, she stopped and leaned up toward his ear to whisper. "We're not done."

"I know." He whispered back as he nudged her again and closed the door behind them. Clark took her hand as they walked down the hall toward the elevator and Lois tucked herself close. "Are you cold? I can go back for your wrap."

"I'm not cold." She looked up at him and smiled. "And I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Okay." He agreed as they reached the elevator and he pressed the call button. Just for tonight, the Blur was going to take a few hours off.

He only hoped that the criminals around Metropolis would cooperate with him.

~*~

"I hope you don't mind spending part of your honeymoon with us." Clark felt his face warm at the innocent remark from the woman celebrating her fiftieth anniversary. "When Dan and I found out that there was a newlywed couple here, we thought it would be nice to have you be a part of this."

"To show you where you can be in fifty years." Her husband added as he put an arm around her shoulders. "They've been the happiest years of my life."

She got a look on her face that made Clark smile, just before she began to laugh. "I'm fairly certain you weren't thinking that when you found yourself on the sofa after our first fight."

"Longest night of my life." He remarked with a sigh.

"That was the idea." She kissed his cheek.

"Well it worked." He chuckled and then looked at Clark. "After that night, we never went to bed angry and we never went to bed alone."

"Because it was the longest night of _my_ life too." She admitted with a soft smile.

"I know." He grinned and to Clark's surprise, his face flushed. "But as I recall we made up for it."

"And nine months later, we had our first child." She patted his cheek.

"Em, these kids don't need to know that." He cleared his throat self-consciously and his wife knew she'd said too much.

"I'm sorry." She reached out for Lois's hand and squeezed it. "The last thing I wanted to do was embarrass you or your husband."

_Husband. _What did it mean that he was getting used to the sound of it?

"And what about _your_ husband?" The older man raised his eyebrows at her with a grin. "Doesn't it matter that _he's_ embarrassed?"

"My love, I think you'll get over it." She smiled at him and then her attention was drawn to the far end of the ballroom. "If you'll both excuse me, I think my daughter needs some help with her grandson."

"That lovely woman has kept me on my toes for the last fifty years." He watched her go. "And I can't help but wonder sometimes what my life would have been like if I'd never met her."

"Where _did_ you meet?" Lois asked him.

"Overseas." He told her. "I was with the Army in Korea and wound up in the hospital after a skirmish with the North Koreans. My wife was a nurse and while she took care of me, we discovered that we were both from Granville."

"Small world." She remarked.

"You're telling me." He laughed. "So before I left to go back up to the line, we exchanged addresses and started to write. And if you think you can't fall in love with a girl through the mail, I'm here to tell you that you can."

_Or sitting across the desk from her. _

"The Korean War ended in 1953." Lois pointed out the obvious. "And you didn't get married until 1959? You took awhile."

"Lois." Clark chided her but the older man shook his head.

"My wife said the same thing when I finally proposed." He chuckled. "The thing of it is; after I got home and started my first semester at Met U. on the GI Bill, my father died and I had to leave school to run the farm."

"That sounds familiar, doesn't it Smallville?" Lois looked up at him and then at the other man. "My hunky farm boy took his time too. Five years, wasn't it Clark?"

"Give or take." He frowned self-consciously, as he figured the older man would expect him to do.

"Son, did your father die?"

"Yes, sir." Clark nodded and felt the familiar hitch in his heart when he thought of that night. "It wasn't completely unexpected, but it didn't make it any easier when it did."

"I know." He agreed. "I was just getting used to being home and seeing my folks. I was courting Emily and we talked about getting married. But after Pop died, Mama needed my brothers and I to help keep things going. After that, we were so busy with the farm that I didn't have the time for Em that I would have liked."

"So what made you finally pop the question?" Lois wondered as she slipped her hand into Clark's and he squeezed it.

"The Lowell County Fair." He laughed softly. "My brothers and I took some cattle over there for show and I saw her on the Ferris wheel with a fellow from a neighboring farm."

"Ouch." Lois remarked in sympathy.

"Ouch is right." He agreed. "I knew right then that if marriage was going to be a possibility, I had to figure out a way to do my job as a farmer and make room for her too."

"And you obviously did."

"Lois." Clark softly admonished her again.

"Your lovely wife is right." He shook his head and Clark felt his face warm. "Mama was the one who helped me figure it out. I told her about the fair and she told me that the life of a farmer is a lonely one. And the one thing that makes being a farmer less lonely is the love of a good woman.

"She told me that she appreciated what I'd done to help her, but if I didn't go after Emily and make her my wife, she'd never forgive me." He grinned. "So what else could I do?"

"That's so sweet." She looked up at Clark again and smiled. "It reminds me of you."

"I gather you had some competition?" Came the amused question.

"It was never serious." Lois told him. "No one could compete with those baby blues of his."

_Or her soft gray eyes either._

"After she accepted my proposal, Em told me it was my laugh." He shrugged. "I never quite understood what it was about it that she liked. But if it got her to marry me, I wasn't going to question it."

"It's probably better that we try not to." Clark started to laugh and with the raised eyebrow from the woman he loved, he laughed even more.

"Someone wants to sleep on the couch, doesn't he?" She jerked on his hand and he could see that she was trying not to laugh.

"Only if you sleep _with_ me." He gave her a look that should have told the older man that he wasn't having any of it. "Because I don't like sleeping without you."

The minute he said it however, Clark knew it was the truth and when Lois's face flashed a bright red, he realized that he'd inadvertently embarrassed her. But she recovered quickly and gave him a shy smile. _Lois?_ "I know the feeling."

Her quiet admission left him speechless and if it was possible, he fell a little bit more in love with her. Lois leaned up to kiss his cheek and seemed to sense what he was feeling. "Me too, Smallville."

"Look at what we have here."

_Oliver?_

"Your competition?" The older man asked quietly as they turned toward the doorway to the ballroom.

"More like someone who doesn't know how to let go of the past." Lois sighed wearily and Clark couldn't help but wonder what Oliver had been saying to her and he frowned.

"Would you like me to get hotel security?" He sounded concerned.

"Thank you, but we can handle this." She smiled gratefully.

"Then I think I'll join my wife." He took Lois's hand for a moment. "It was very nice meeting the both of you."

And he left Clark and Lois alone.

_So much for Oliver giving him a week, _because Clark had a hard time believing that his sudden presence with a date in the ballroom of the _Regent Hotel_ was a coincidence.

But there he was, with someone who seemed nice. And who also seemed to be uneasily aware that he was zeroing in on the woman standing next to Clark, one Lois Lane.

"Well isn't this a surprise." He walked over to them and Clark reflexively stepped ahead of Lois, shielding her.

_Staking his territory was more like it._

"You disappoint me Clark." His tone was sarcastic, his voice slightly slurred and Clark couldn't help but wonder how much Oliver had been drinking.

"Oliver, what are you doing?" The quiet voice of his date was agitated and tugged at his sleeve. "Let's go."

"Come on Deanna, I haven't seen the lovebirds since the wedding." He smiled broadly as he pulled away from her and stepped forward, taking Lois's hand. "I would have thought you two snuggle bunnies would have been tucked away in your room."

It was a deliberate dig and Clark saw Lois's head go down for a moment, take a quiet breath and look back up. He had no doubt that she was probably trying to refrain from giving him a piece of her mind.

"Oliver." His date scolded him with a frown. "You're embarrassing them."

"You don't know Lois, she doesn't embarrass easily." He kept his eyes trained on her and Lois tucked her hand through Clark's arm and moved closer to him. "I wonder if Clark's found out yet how uninhibited she can be."

"Oliver, that's enough." The girl's face was turning red because he was starting to attract attention. "They're on their honeymoon, so let's just leave them alone."

"Honey, you don't understand." And then he grinned at Clark. "They aren't-"

"Ollie, why don't you dance with me." Lois slipped her hand away from his elbow and kissed his cheek again before she pulled Oliver toward the dance floor by his sleeve.

Clark's fists were clenched at his sides as he watched Lois lead the other man away and he could feel the muscles in his jaw working in irritation.

"I'm really sorry about this." She apologized to him. "He insisted on making a detour on our way to the _Ace of Clubs_ but wouldn't tell me why. But when I saw him looking at your wife, it didn't take much to figure it out."

He had to clamp down on the impulse to correct Oliver's date about his true status with Lois, but his stomach fluttered just the same. _His wife._

"Lois broke up with him a few years ago because Queen Industries kept him away from Metropolis so much." Clark explained. "And she wasn't satisfied with accepting second place."

"She wanted more." Deanna added and he nodded as she looked up at him with curiosity. "So how did you two meet?"

"She found me in a cornfield actually." He smiled as he kept a watchful eye on Lois and couldn't help but laugh at the woman's confused look. "It's a long story. We actually didn't get along very well that first year."

"But that obviously changed though, didn't it?" She sounded amused and when Clark looked at her, she no longer looked confused. "Friends become lovers; it's the oldest story in the book."

He felt his face flush and it was her turn to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just think it's wonderful that you found each other because it's so obvious how much you love each other."

_It was?_

"You know, I think your wife might need some rescuing." Deanna's voice suddenly pitched up with worry as she put her hand on his arm and glanced toward the dance floor. "And I need to get my date home before he causes a scene."

And just as she said that, Oliver pulled Lois toward him and leaned in to kiss her. But before he could get that close, she pulled back sharply. Clark could just imagine the colorful language that was on the tip of her tongue, but refrained from voicing it, being aware that she'd only add to the scene he was causing.

Instead, her voice was soft but firm. "Ollie, you need to let me go. So why don't you let your date take you home and you can sleep this off."

"I'll go if you come with me." Clark couldn't help but feel for him, just a little. Regret was a powerful emotion that he was well acquainted with, but it didn't excuse his behavior with a woman he once loved. And certainly not in front of his date, who seemed much too nice to be put through this.

"I can't." She slipped her hand out of his. "You know that."

"Lois."

"I've moved on and it's time you did too." Lois's voice was gentle and held a note of sympathy.

"With who, _him_?" Oliver glanced over at Clark with contempt. "Come on Lois, this whole thing isn't real. The two of you together aren't real."

He reached for her again and Clark stepped forward.

"I love him." She grasped Clark's hand and his heart stopped at the feel of it. "And that'll never change."

"Does _he_ know that?"

"Of course he does." He heard the breathlessness in her voice and it made his stomach flutter.

"Then you know how he feels about _you_."

"If I didn't know that we wouldn't be here, would we?" She put her free hand on his cheek. "You're a great guy and I'll never forget our time together. But you made your choice when you left Metropolis and I had to make the choice to let you go.

"So now you need to make the choice to let _me_ go because you seem to have met a really nice girl who doesn't deserve this. She deserves a date who only has eyes for her, don't you think?"

"You really love him? You're not just saying that." The cocky veneer slipped and it was then that Clark saw a man who was hurting, badly, and had chosen to latch on to a time in his life where he had had the world on a string.

"I really love him Ollie." She admitted quietly. "And he loves me, more than I deserve."

_No Lois, that would be me._

Oliver sighed and when he looked at Lois again, he had tears in his eyes. "I said once that I was going to regret letting you go, and I do." He sighed again. "But if Clark is the guy who makes you happy, I can't stand in the way of that, can I?"

"No." She shook her head. "Ollie, if you ever felt anything for me, you'll let this go and let _me_ go."

"I don't know if I can do that." He wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. "I don't know if I _want_ to do that."

"I think after a good nights sleep, you'll see things differently. So let's get you out of here and Deanna can get you home so you can sleep this off."

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me." A tear slipped down his cheek and Deanna looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"I think something even better can be in store for you if you just give it a chance."

Clark was impressed with how Lois was handling the situation and he understood more than he would like about hanging on to a relationship that had run it's course. He understood why Oliver didn't want to let her go.

To his credit though, he looked at his date and gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry. You're too nice to be treated like this and you deserved better."

"Yes I did." She didn't disagree with him. "But now I think it's time to leave these two nice people alone, don't you?"

Oliver nodded reluctantly as Deanna took one arm and Lois took the other. "Come on Ollie. And just so you know, you're going to apologize to that nice couple tomorrow."

"I'll make sure he does." Deanna promised as they walked Oliver out of the ballroom.

Clark watched them leave and started when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the man whose anniversary was being celebrated. "You have a keeper there, son. I hope you know that."

"I know." He nodded. "I know."


	13. Maple Donuts and Snoopy Boxers

_The soft touch of warm fingers skimming her hip roused her from sleep and she felt a pair of full lips kiss her shoulder._

_An equally warm body snuggled her from behind as she reached back to run her fingers through his hair and she smiled with a satisfaction that came from being loved by him._

"_You're awake." His voice was husky with sleep and the sound of it made her shiver which made him pull her closer against him. "You're cold." _

"_I'm not cold." She shook her head and nudged him away a little so she could roll over and then she smiled at him, the love of her life. "I'm happy, Smallville." _

_His blue eyes fairly twinkled at her as he smiled back. "Me too, Lois."_

Her eyes were open in a flash.

_Smallville._

All this time it had been him Lois had been dreaming about, him that she was making love with. _Why didn't that surprise her?_

Her feelings for him had crept up on her so quietly that she didn't realize they were there until he'd disappeared for a month. It was a double blow to her because not only had _he_ disappeared but Chloe had been taken into custody by Lex's goons before turning up at a remote facility called Black Creek.

Who knew that she'd run into Clark there four weeks later, looking for her cousin? Who knew that he would actually fill out the application she'd given him to work at the _Daily Planet_ and that they would end up across the desk from each other?

Who knew that she'd fall in love with him?

Who knew that he'd fall in love with _her_?

_Who knew?_

"Lois, are you awake?" Clark's soft voice startled her. She slowly rolled over and saw him standing in the doorway of the bathroom, toweling his damp hair. He was obviously just out of the shower and Lois felt her face warm at the sight of his broad, bare chest.

He was barefoot and in the sweats he'd slept in, but obviously hadn't put his tee shirt back on. It was a subtle gesture, but she couldn't help but think that he wanted her to see him.

He wanted her to see him as the man that he was.

"I hope you didn't use all the hot water." Her voice was much too breathless which he seemed to notice when she saw his cheeks color as he smiled a little shyly because the sound of it seemed to catch him off guard.

"That's _your_ job Lois." He tossed back, after he'd cleared his throat. "Why do you think I got into the shower why you were still sleeping?"

"You're finally learning Smallville." Her heart started to flutter as he tossed the damp towel into the bathroom and walked toward the bed.

_When had he become so incredibly handsome?_

"So I'm told." He quipped as he came to a stop and sat down next to her. "I thought about waking you earlier, but it looked like you were having a nice dream."

_If only you knew._

"We've got a whole day before we have to be downstairs for that game." He sighed and Lois had to fight the urge to smile. He hadn't said as much since he agreed to participate, but she knew that he really didn't want to do it.

And yet he was because it was something _she_ wanted to do.

"We can go down for breakfast or eat here." He suggested. "And you mentioned something about a carriage ride around the city."

"I have a hard time seeing you riding around in a carriage, Clark." She did smile then. "If it's all the same to you, a walk in the park would be nice because it's right across the street."

"Okay." He smiled back, seeming almost relieved. "Then how would you feel about taking a picnic lunch with us and we can eat there?"

_Really? _

"You're not going to tell me that you can't see me having a picnic in the park, are you?" He laughed softly and Lois loved the sound of it.

"Surprisingly Smallville, I can." She grasped his hand and he closed his fingers around hers. "It must be your corn-fed Kansas upbringing."

He cocked an eyebrow, a habit he was picking up from her. "If you must know Lois, I've never been on a picnic with a girl."

"Never?" _Not even with Lana?_

"It wasn't something I ever really wanted to do." He shrugged. "But you mentioned once that you got stood up for a picnic date, so I thought I'd make it up to you."

"But you didn't stand me up." _Ollie did. "_So there's nothing to make up."

"That's true, but _I've_ stood you up a couple of times so consider this my making up for that."

_He was so sweet. _"Okay."

"Okay?" Clark seemed surprised that she was giving in so easily and then a look of suspicion crossed his face, _'It can't be that easy.'_

'_Yes it can Smallville.' _

"That's what I said." Lois assured him and had to resist the sudden urge to trail her fingers down his chest that she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of, because she wanted to so desperately. But if she did, she might start something with him that she wasn't ready to see through just yet.

Clark seemed to sense the same thing because he gave her hand a squeeze before he stood up, keenly aware of the situation he'd inadvertently created between them. He stumbled as he stepped back from the bed and a laugh escaped before she could stop it.

Her shy farm boy was still there.

"Are you all right?" She sat up as he regained his balance and gave her a sheepish grin before he turned serious.

"Lois, no one has ever looked at me the way you do." He continued to back up and was completely flustered. "No one has ever made me _feel_ the way you do."

"How do I make you feel Clark?" She felt the trembling start and her heart fluttered an odd beat.

"Like I can do anything." He told her honestly as his face flushed a deep red and Lois smiled at him.

"Haven't you figured out yet that you can? You don't need _me_ to do that."

"My parents are the only one's who have ever believed in me as much as you do." He stopped when he got to the bathroom door and leaned against the doorjamb.

"You've got me in some pretty exclusive company there Smallville."

"Only because it's true." He shrugged. "No matter how often I messed up, they were always there for me. I don't know how many times I disappointed them, but they seemed to love me even more."

"You're their son Clark, of course they would." It was her turn to shrug. "You don't love someone with conditions; you love someone in spite of their faults. Now in _my_ case-"

"You don't have any faults, I know." He chuckled and Lois sighed quietly. _He knew her too well._ "So what am I supposed to do about that?"

"Love me in spite of the fact that I _don't_ have faults?" She suggested and Clark gave her a thoughtful look.

"I'll have to think about that." He told her as he stepped back into the bathroom, closed the door and then she heard him laugh.

"Hey!" She called at the bathroom door. "I still need to take my shower!"

~*~

Clark had asked her to go ahead downstairs and pick up the picnic basket.

'_I'll be right behind you.' _He promised her with a press of his lips to hers. She'd heard _that_ before and frowned at him.

'_You better be.'_

But true to his word, five minutes later he was stepping off the elevator. When he met her at the front desk she told him that their lunch wasn't ready just yet. "Apparently, there was a lunch rush in the dining room, So they asked if we wouldn't mind waiting."

"I don't mind." He assured her. "Is that all right with you?"

Before she had the chance to answer, she saw the couple they'd met at the anniversary party. The older woman waved at them and when they approached, she was smiling. "Dan and I were hoping we'd run into you before we left."

"You're checking out?" Clark asked.

"In the morning." Her husband answered with a grin. "A farm doesn't run itself, as you know and our boys have farms of their own to look after."

Mrs. Morgan took Lois's hand and smiled. "We just wanted you to know that the young man who was bothering you at our anniversary party last night sent us a dozen roses and a lovely note apologizing for his behavior."

It wasn't exactly what Lois had had in mind, but at least Ollie _did_ apologize for being such a jackass.

"I'm glad he did that." She smiled back. "He really is a nice guy."

"So are we going to see you two at the game later?" The woman asked them.

"We'll be there." Clark told her and Lois heard him sigh. "Lois will make sure of it."

"Well that's good, because it means I don't have to go through this humiliation alone." Mr. Morgan rolled his eyes and it was obvious that he was as excited for the afternoon to come as Clark was.

"I like that Daniel Morgan." His wife gave him a look that made him flush.

"Em, honey. I already told you that this wasn't exactly the way I wanted to spend our last afternoon." He defended himself. "But I know how much _you_ wanted to do this."

_How telling was it that the Morgan's sounded so much like her and Clark?_

"Oh honestly." She suddenly laughed and then looked at Lois. "You'd think after fifty years of marriage, he'd be able to tell me 'no' every once in awhile."

"And have you look at me the way you would look at the kids when they were in trouble? No thank you." He looked at Clark with a grin. "And _that_ is the secret to a happy marriage, son."

"Lois had me trained five years ago." Clark shrugged and Lois balled up her fist and punched him in the arm, which she knew he'd expect. And all he did was laugh. "And that's how."

"Smallville." She sighed. "They don't need to know that."

"This may sound like an obvious question, but do you live in Smallville?" Mrs. Morgan asked, not bothering to hide her smile. "I heard you call him that last night and thought it was rather sweet."

_Really? _

"My parent's have a place outside of Smallville." Clark told them.

A look crossed the face of Mr. Morgan as though he was trying to remember something and then he looked at Clark. "Your last name is Kent, is that right?"

"Yes sir."

"You're Jonathan Kent's boy, aren't you." It was more a confirmation than a question and Lois sensed Clark's surprise as he nodded.

"Yes. You knew him?"

"Just in passing." He shook his head. "I'd see him at the grange meetings and he was always one to stand up and speak his mind."

"That sounds like him." Lois smiled at Clark. "Your dad never was one to keep things to himself."

He took her hand in his and smiled back at her. "He sure had his opinion about you."

"And you married me anyway." She felt a blush burn her cheeks the moment she said it and his answering blush made her eyes tear in embarrassment. But the older couple seemed to take it as though she wished her father in law could have been at their wedding.

"It's a difficult thing not to have a parent at your own wedding. As happy as I was to marry Emily, it was hard not having my pop there."

"His dad was really something." Lois took a deep breath and with a reassuring squeeze of her fingers from Clark, she took a swipe at the unshed tears with her free hand. They needed to get out of there, _now_.

"Mrs. Kent?"

_Great._

"Your lunch is all ready to go." The desk clerk got her attention and when Lois looked at her, she was holding out a basket. "Thank you for your patience, the kitchen staff really appreciates it. And here's a blanket if you don't want to sit at a table."

Clark took the basket and Lois accepted the offered blanket.

"What a lovely idea." Mrs. Morgan smiled at them. "And the weather is just perfect."

"On that note, we'll leave you kids to your picnic." Mr. Morgan took his wife's elbow. "We'll see you later." And Lois watched them as they walked toward the elevator.

"I feel like such a fraud." She felt the tears coming again as Clark tugged on her hand as he urged her forward.

"I know, I do too." He sighed. "It almost makes being sent to Lifestyles worth it if we didn't have to do this."

"They're so nice and we stood there and lied to them." She glanced up at him and he nodded as he let go of her hand and opened the door, nudging her through. She waited as he followed behind her and then took her hand again as they headed to the crosswalk.

"We don't have to do this if you've changed your mind." Clark gave her the opportunity to back out as the light turned green. "We can take the basket back up to the room and eat lunch out on the balcony."

"No." She shook her head. "If anything, it's nice to be out of the hotel for awhile."

"Okay." He agreed and pulled her gently with him as they crossed the street and walked into the park.

It really was a nice day and in spite of the subterfuge they'd had to engage in with the Morgan's, Lois _was_ happy to be outside.

Clark looked up and seemed to be studying the sky. Lois knew what he was doing and smiled to herself because as much as he'd started to make a name for himself as a reporter, there was still so much of the farmer in him.

"So what's the verdict?" She asked him.

"Weather reports were mentioning a possible snowstorm coming in later." He told her and glanced up again. "I just wanted to see what the cloud formations looked like so if we needed to make a run for the hotel, we'd get back before it started to snow."

"The weather's beautiful." She looked up at the clouds and to her they looked like cotton candy. "In fact, it's a little warm for October."

"But you've lived here long enough to know that a cold front can come in without a lot of warning." He reminded her and looked up again. "If that were a cloudless sky I wouldn't have mentioned anything, but Dad always told me that when there's a lot of cloud activity, no matter what they look like, it bears watching."

"Okay." She said to him and he seemed a little surprised that she accepted it. "You're the expert on this Smallville, so I defer to you."

"You mind if I get that in writing?" He smiled at her. "Lois Lane is acknowledging that I know something she doesn't."

"But remember that it _is_ only farming." She tossed back.

"It's still something I know that you don't, though." _He was having too much fun. _"And I also know that we've found the perfect spot for our picnic."

"How do you figure that?"

"Take a look around and tell me that you don't agree with me." Clark challenged her and when she surveyed the area, she knew he was right. He'd managed to find a relatively secluded area of the park that gave them a decent amount of privacy.

"You must have something in mind." Lois teased him, knowing that his innate sense of being a gentleman would cause him to object.

"Lois." He reacted predictably as his face colored.

"You are so easy." She laughed and shook the blanket out before laying it down on the grass. "Why don't you set that basket down so we can see what the hotel packed for us?"

"I will when you tell me that I found a good spot." He refused to budge and Lois was suitably impressed. Her Smallville could be just as stubborn as she could when he wanted to be, and that was saying something.

"You found a good spot Clark." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He set the basket down and Lois sat down next to it, opening the lid. Clark sat down on the other side and took a peek . "So what do we have?"

"We have-" She pulled out a bottle and held it up. "Champagne. And since you don't drink, it's all for me."

"Hey." He frowned at her. "I get at least a _half_ glass to toast."

"What are we going to toast to?"

"Empty the basket and you'll find out." He shook his head and as Lois unloaded the rest of the aromatic contents, Clark loosened the cork on the bottle. "If you'd get the glasses ready before I open this, we won't waste anything if it overflows."

She fished out two glasses that had been secured to the inside lid of the basket and waited for him. It looked like he was struggling a little and Lois couldn't figure it out. Such a big guy and he couldn't handle a champagne bottle? "You need some help with that Smallville?"

"I've got it." He sounded awfully defensive as the cork suddenly popped and Lois jumped. She held the glasses out as foam bubbled up from the top of the bottle and he poured, without spilling a drop. He set the bottle down inside the basket and then Lois handed him his glass. "Ready?"

"Let's get this toast on the road Clark, I'm hungry. And don't you dare say that I'm always hungry." She chided him preemptively.

"I don't have to because you just did." He laughed and then held up his glass. "I know you weren't really crazy about Tess giving us this story, but I'm glad that you decided to do it and that you're here with me."

'_So am I.'_

"I would have gone to Lifestyles if she'd paired me with anyone but you." Lois admitted as they touched the rims of their glasses together.

"I would have gone with you if she'd paired me with anyone but you, too." He pushed the basket out of the way and kissed her. "So what have we got to eat?"

~*~

There were a lot more people than she'd anticipated and Lois felt as though the hole she'd started to dig earlier for herself was being dug even deeper.

And no one else was responsible for the shovel in her hands except her.

She and Clark had been told that there were a number of honeymoon couples at the hotel, but had not idea how many until they were all together in the same room. Add the anniversaries and married vacationers, well, it was more than she had bargained for.

But as Clark had told her after they'd made it through the previous rounds of questions, their embarrassment at some of the personal things they'd been asked would only solidify their cover as a newly married couple.

"I don't suppose we could bug out before the last round of questions, could we?" She gave him a pleading look and to her consternation, he laughed.

"This was your idea Lois." He shook his head. "You were the one who said that she wanted to experience everything that the hotel had to offer. Well, this _is_ part of the _Regent_ honeymoon experience, so you're going to stay here with me until the last round is over."

"Fine." She sat back and had to resist the urge to fold her arms across her chest like a petulant child. But he was right about their participation being her idea and she couldn't really be annoyed with him because he did something she wanted to.

It had been one thing to answer the questionnaire they'd both been provided, in the privacy of their room. But she hadn't considered how it would sound to admit to a room full of strangers that her "husband" wore Snoopy boxers, or that the first time they ever kissed, she couldn't remember it.

Never mind the fact that the one birthday cake she'd ever made for him ended up going to the Kent's goats and _they_ couldn't walk a straight line for two days. It lessened the mortification of that incident when Clark laughed at her answer to, "What is the most eventful birthday your husband ever had?"

She didn't know why, but it was that one birthday that stood out. Maybe it was because she'd thought Clark was going to wise up and finally let go of Lana.

In the short time that she'd known the both of them, all they seemed to do was hurt each other. And then Lana had twisted the knife in his gut when she got mixed up with Lex.

Lois had known deep down that it wasn't because she cared for the bald billionaire, but because she wanted to hurt Clark as deeply as she could.

And she'd succeeded.

"It won't be much longer." He leaned over and pressed a kiss into her hair. "And when we're done here, we can go for a walk if you want or have an early dinner in the dining room."

"Or we can hide out in our room and have dinner there."

"We're not going to hide anywhere Lois." Clark laughed again. "We're going to help each other through this incredibly embarrassing game and get the heck out of here. Okay?"

"Okay." She nodded reluctantly and sighed before she took his hand and put her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for doing this."

"Only for you." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"If I could have everyone's attention, we're going to get started with the last round." The hotel activity director stood at the front of the room and Lois heard a barely perceptible sigh from Clark. "So if you'll take your seats, we'll get started."

Lois sat up and looked at Clark again, almost wishing that he'd grab her by the hand and pull her out of the conference room. She gave him one last appealing look and predictably, he shook his head.

He put his hand on her shoulder and urged her forward and as they walked back to the semi-circle of chairs, Lois saw Dan and Emily Morgan and the older woman waived them over.

"Would you kids mind sitting with us again?" She asked them. "It's nice to have familiar faces next to us."

"Of course." Clark nodded.

"It's nice for us too." Lois agreed and sat down next to her.

"So how are you holding up son?" Dan Morgan grinned.

"Lois was just trying to talk me into making a break for the door." He admitted with a smile. "But I reluctantly talked her out of it."

"I wish you hadn't done that, because I was just trying to convince my wife to do the same thing." The older man chuckled and that got Lois to look up at Clark again.

'_Come on Clark, help a girl out.'_

He sighed again and Lois had to hold back a smile because she knew he was about to break. "Well-"

_Don't look too eager Lois. _She told herself.

"This _is_ usually the time of day for Lois's post lunch, pre-dinner, after coffee snack break." He glanced at her and it shouldn't have amazed her that he remembered that, but it did.

The Morgan's seemed suitably impressed too because they looked at each other and smiled.

"So before she goes into sugar shock because she hasn't had her third maple donut of the day, I think it's time to go."

'_I love you Smallville.' _

'_That's why I did it.' _He held out his hand to her, and when she took it he pulled her up to her feet. "Come on. There's got to be a maple donut around here with your name on it."

"Why don't you kids let us treat you to coffee at the coffee shop?" Mr. Morgan offered, "Then your lovely bride can have her donut."

_His lovely bride. _

"We can't let you do that." Clark protested.

"Yes you can." He nodded. "You two remind me a lot of Em and me when we were first married and it would mean a lot to us if we could do this."

Lois looked at Clark and a feeling of guilt washed over her. These two nice people who seemed to think the world of them had bought their cover as newlyweds. So what else _could_ they do but accept?

"But I think I was just overruled, so we accept." He agreed with a squeeze of Lois's fingers and his look told her he was feeling much the same way. They walked out of the room together and headed toward the small coffee shop that was located just inside the main doors.

When they got settled in a booth, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan ordered a slice of apple pie. Lois requested her maple donut and Clark asked for a piece of cherry pie.

Lois remembered him telling her once that his mom made the best cherry pie in Lowell County and had the first place ribbon from the county fair to prove it.

While they waited for the waitress to return with their coffee, Mr. Morgan seemed to decide to grill the young couple. "You two seemed to have had quite the courtship before you got married."

"Life with Lois _has_ been interesting." Clark grasped her fingers again under the table and smiled at her. "From the night I met her, I never knew what to expect."

"_Some_one had to keep you on your toes Smallville." She gave him a pleased shrug. "And it might as well have been me."

"You've been doing that since you found me on Route 31." He chuckled. "And I wasn't exactly myself."

"You weren't exactly dressed either." She reminded him with a smile and the memory of it made her face flush.

"You mentioned a cornfield at our anniversary party." Mrs. Morgan looked at them curiously. "But you left out the part about your husband being naked as a jaybird."

"That's not something Clark likes to talk about." Lois stated the obvious and Clark frowned in embarrassment.

"Would _you_?" He asked and then a sudden grin on his face made Lois blanche in apprehension because she knew what was coming. "But it all evened out."

"How's that?" The older woman asked.

"This guy she met didn't turn out to be who she thought he was and I thought she was in trouble. So I went over to her apartment to make sure she was okay." He started to explain,

"And you let yourself in like you always did." She interrupted with a sigh because she'd never quite gotten over the embarrassment of that night. He had that 'deer in the headlights' look when he saw her on the other side of the bathroom door and if she hadn't slammed it on him, he would have just kept on staring.

"You never objected before." He pointed out and was right. "And even after that happened, you _still_ didn't object."

"What I _should_ have done was locked the stupid door." She sighed again.

"It's a little late to think about that now Lois." His grin got wider because he knew he suddenly had the upper hand in their sparing match and _he_ was winning. _Damn!_

"So what happened?" Mrs. Morgan wanted to know and then she stopped when it dawned on her what Lois was getting at. "Oh."

"She thought I was an intruder and decided to face him down with nothing more than a back scrubber." His face flamed red and he took a breath. "The thing is, she forgot her towel before she opened the door and-"

"You got a view you weren't expecting." Mr. Morgan supplied as his head went down and Lois was pretty sure he was trying not to laugh.

"That's about it." Clark nodded and then looked into Lois's eyes. "I couldn't get that picture out of my head for weeks."

With a bravado she wasn't feeling, Lois held his gaze and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Of course you couldn't, it was _me_."

"You said that your most embarrassing moment was catching each other in a Gentleman's Club." Mrs. Morgan raised her eyebrows at them.

"That was the first thing that came to my mind when we were filling out the questionnaires." Clark admitted. "But that was a pretty close second."

"I can't imagine your father was too pleased about that misadventure." Mr. Morgan shook his head.

"Not at first," He agreed. "Getting a call from Sheriff Adams that his under-aged son was in jail because he was caught in a raid on a strip club wasn't exactly something he was expecting. But we were only doing it to help people we cared about. We just didn't know the other one would be there."

"It's a long story." Lois interjected because of their questioning looks and she pleaded with Clark not to elaborate. His finding her naked in her bathroom was bad enough. His finding her in a high end strip club because she was trying to help her cousin with a story and then watching her as she striped down to a red, white and blue sequined bikini was something she didn't particularly want to relive.

"We all do things we wouldn't ordinarily do when we love someone." Mrs. Morgan smiled at them as the waitress came back with their orders and set the plates down in front of them, "Thank you."

The waitress nodded her thanks and after topping off their cups, she left them alone.

"And even when you don't." Clark started to laugh and Lois looked at him, wondering what he was thinking.

"Smallville?"

"Don't tell me you forgot about the pool party?" He smiled at her. "You had me distract Mandy so you could grab the science report she did with Rhonda and find out what they spiked the football players water cooler with."

_Oh, that. _

"You played at Smallville High?" Mr. Morgan asked, not looking all that surprised.

"He was only the star quarterback." Lois smiled at him as she felt a proud bride would. "And in his final game, he threw a sixty-yard Hail Mary to win the game."

"Lois."

"He's so bashful about that." She put her hand on his arm. "My farm boy doesn't like it when people make a fuss about him."

"Well, not _every_one." He replied. "I don't mind it when _you_ do."

"Of course you don't."

"I know. Because you're you." Clark rolled his eyes.

"And don't you forget it." Lois smiled back at him and took a generous bite of her donut and then washed it down with a sip of her coffee.

"You know, I've been watching the two of you and I can see the strong foundation of friendship that you've built your relationship on." Mrs. Morgan observed. "And I can't help but wonder what happened for you to see him as more than your friend."

_That was easy_, but she'd never told Clark.

"I'd been dating someone-"

"The young man at our party." Mr. Morgan surmised.

"Yes." Lois nodded. "We'd broken up about a year before because he left town without any notice, but I never really let him go. When he came back to Metropolis, a part of me thought we could try again, but it didn't take me long to realize that business was always going to come first with him." Clark took her hand and she felt his thumb brush against her knuckles.

"I'd had to come in second place the whole time I was growing up because my dad was in the Army, so it wasn't anything new. I just wanted to hope that it could have been different with Ollie."

"But it obviously didn't work out that way." Mrs. Morgan gave her a look of sympathy.

"No. But my knight in shining armor here showed up at my apartment while I was drowning my sorrows in a tub of Rocky Road ice cream and he listened while I babbled. And when I was done he just held me and let me know he was there." She looked at Clark and revealed a secret to him. "That's when I started to fall in love with you."

"I never knew that." He managed to get the words out after clearing his throat.

"You weren't supposed to." She shook her head and found she could only squeak out a whisper. "That was just for me, but now I wanted to tell you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I think that's our cue to leave you kids alone." Mr. Morgan slid over, got up from his seat and held out a hand to his wife. He helped her to her feet and they stood next to the table. "We'll pay the check on the way out and leave the tip."

"Thank you." Lois wished she could say something more than that, but the older couple seemed to appreciate it.

"You're welcome honey."

"If we don't see you before we check out, it was nice meeting you." Mr. Morgan held out his hand and shook Clark's hand and then Lois's. "You've been a nice reminder of what it's like to be at the beginning of the journey together."

"Once you start having kids and living your everyday lives, it's easy to forget what it's like to be starting out." Mrs. Morgan agreed.

Lois glanced at Clark and she felt the pressure of his fingers against hers again. _'I know Lois.' _

"Would you mind some advice from an old geezer with fifty years of marriage under his belt?"

"With a lot of help." Came the reminder.

"With a lot of help." He grinned and took his wife's hand. "Never be afraid to talk. Em and I learned that after our first fight and it was the only night in fifty years that we didn't sleep in the same bed."

"We'll remember that." Clark glanced at Lois again and she didn't know why she nodded, but she did.

"Well, we'll get out of your hair and leave you to yourselves." He stepped back.

"It really was nice to meet you." Mrs. Morgan told them and hand in hand walked with her husband to the front counter. Lois watched as he paid the bill before they walked out of the coffee shop and headed toward the elevator.

"Can we go upstairs now?" Lois sighed and could feel her eyes tear. "I've got a headache."

"Let's go." Clark slipped out of the booth and as she'd seen Mr. Morgan do for his wife, Clark held out his hand to her. "This was easier when it was just us, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." She answered as they walked out into the lobby. "It never occurred to me that we would actually meet people here. I thought we'd come here and nose around, talk to the hotel staff and we'd have our story. Meeting those people put a whole new spin on this."

"I know." He kept a hold on her hand and fished in his pocket for the key card as they got to the elevator. "Why don't you lay down when we get back to the room and rest for awhile and then we'll decide what we want to do next."

"Okay." Lois couldn't help but think that it was nice to have someone taking care of her for a change, so she rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He kissed her back and slipped the key into the slot. As the doors opened and they stepped on, Clark looked at her and grinned. "You just had to mention the Snoopy boxers, didn't you?"

And the doors closed.


	14. Confession Time

"How are you feeling?" Clark's voice was soft and she felt a cool cloth on her head. When Lois opened her eyes, she could see that he'd closed the curtains against the late afternoon sun. "You weren't kidding when you said you had a headache were you?"

"I can't remember the last time I got a migraine." She sighed and closed her eyes again; it hurt too much to keep them open. "Thank you for closing those."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call the doctor?" She heard the concern in his voice and had to curb the urge to shake her head. If she did, that might put her back in the bathroom. "I don't think it's normal to get sick with a headache."

"This is going to sound crazy. But when I was a kid I used to get migraines all the time and the only way they would go away is when I threw up."

She'd given him a first hand demonstration of that earlier and to her utter humiliation, he stayed with her through the whole ordeal. She'd tried to waive him off, telling him she could deal with it. But he'd refused to let her go through it alone and held her hair back as her head pounded and she retched.

He'd supported her back so she could stand at the sink long enough to rinse and brush her teeth and then picked her up and carried her back to the bed. He was getting really good at that, taking care of her. And she was getting better at letting him do it.

"Lois, I'd feel better if you'd let me call the doctor." Clark took one of her hands in between both of his and held it.

"There's nothing he can do that I haven't already done Clark." She opened her eyes again and she could see the worry on his face. "It's running its course and in a couple of hours, I'll be better."

"Lois." His frown deepened and she knew he didn't like her answer.

"Let's compromise then."

"What kind of compromise?" He asked and seemed to brace himself for her answer.

"Instead of calling the doctor, you can stay here with me and see for yourself that I'll be okay."

"That's not a compromise Lois." Clark objected and she rolled her eyes. _Big mistake._ "That's _not_ letting me call the doctor."

She chastised herself as her head felt as though it was being squeezed in a vice. It must have shown in her face because Clark was up and off the bed and Lois knew he was headed for the phone.

"Smallville, would you sit down." She sighed. "I've been through this before and it's always the same thing. So just make a girl happy and stay with me."

"You're losing the color in your face and I don't think that's normal."

"Clark, honey." _That should get his attention. _Lois felt her face warm at the sound of the endearment and the look of his pleased surprise made her smile because it wiped the frown of concern off of his face. If only for a moment. "You have to trust me on this that I know what I'm doing."

"I just don't like seeing you like this knowing there isn't anything I can do." He fretted, but did as she asked and sat back down.

She reached up to run her hand down his cheek and she felt a little thrill when he leaned into her touch. "You've done more than you know."

"I'm just sorry this whole thing's upset you." He sighed.

"Guilt does that." She shrugged. "I really think we need to tell them the whole story before they check out tomorrow."

"We will if you want to." Clark nodded in agreement. "Because I wasn't too happy about it either."

"Then we're agreed?" Lois asked him and he nodded.

"We'll talk to them tomorrow."

"And?" He wasn't going to agree to _that_ easily, was he?

He sighed. "I'll stay here with you."

"Gee Smallville, don't sound so happy about that." She gave him a pointed look and Clark smiled at her.

"I'm being overprotective, I know." He took her hand again. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know. But if you have your arms around me, what will?" She asked logically and he seemed to agree.

"Okay. But let me do something first." He got up and took the cloth off of her forehead and replaced it with his hand. "I need to cool this off because your skin is still really warm."

"And I thought your mom was a mother hen."

"Who do you think I learned that from?" He leaned over and kissed her before walking to the bathroom and she heard the water from the tap. The sound was oddly soothing and Lois wasn't aware that she'd gone back to sleep until she felt the coolness on her head. "Are you sure you won't change your mind about the doctor?"

"Yes I'm sure." She opened her eyes again and he was frowning, _again_. "So stop fussing and get over here. I won't be able to go back to sleep until you do."

"Lois, you were asleep when I came back in here." He grinned at her.

"I wasn't asleep Smallville, I was resting my eyes." She frowned and wished she hadn't. "So stop stalling."

"I'll stop stalling if you stop talking, okay?" The look on his face told her that he knew damn well she'd been asleep.

"Fine." She reluctantly agreed and when she closed her eyes, she heard Clark's soft laugh. "Don't say it."

"I wasn't going to say a thing." The bed dipped as she sensed him getting up and she reached out for him, catching his wrist.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Lois followed the sound of his voice as he walked to the foot of the bed and felt it dip again as he crawled up next to her and lay down. His voice was close to her ear as he got his arms around her. "I'm right here."

"As if you'd want to be anywhere else." _She couldn't resist _and he laughed again.

"Go back to sleep Lois."

So she did.

~*~

When she woke again, the first thing she realized was that the migraine was gone. And almost at the same time, she knew that Clark wasn't there. She reached a hand over to where he'd been sleeping next to her and the bedding was cold, so it was apparent that he'd been gone for awhile.

She opened her eyes and the room was dark, the only illumination in the entire suite coming from a lamp out in the sitting room and she had the feeling that she was alone.

"I hope you didn't go for the doctor." She sighed and then her heart stopped for a moment when the familiar black clad figure of the Blur suddenly appeared in the doorway of the bedroom.

Lois hadn't seen him since he'd come to her rescue after John Corben had kidnapped her and she'd begged him then to let her see his face, but he'd blurred away instead.

What was bringing him here now?

"It's you."

In spite of the lamp being on, the Blur's face was still hidden in shadow and Lois never thought he'd be this close to her. She sat up and the still damp cloth dropped into her lap.

"How did you know I was here?" And her heart started to flutter at a furious pace. Not so much because the Blur was near, but because there was something disturbingly familiar about him. His body seemed to fill the doorway and a tiny voice in the back of her mind began to whisper to her, insistently. And the louder the voice got, the more she tried to deny it because it didn't make any sense. It just wasn't possible, _was it_?

She couldn't bring herself to say the name that was begging to be said because she couldn't quite reconcile her mother hen to Metropolis' savior in black.

But the longer he stood there, not saying a word and the realization of his familiar stance making it impossible for her to deny it any longer, she knew she had to say something. "Smallville?"

She heard a sigh and he stepped into the room. "This wasn't the way I wanted you to find out."

Lois reached over and turned on the bedside lamp and when she looked back toward the doorway, there he was looking tired, dirty and smelling of smoke. His hair was a tousled mop and his face was smudged with soot.

_Her mother hen was the Blur._

"Clark?" She couldn't take her eyes off of him. She recognized the black tee shirt with the S shield on the chest, the long black trench coat, black pants and boots; she just didn't expect to see them on Clark Kent.

"I didn't think you'd be awake yet." He remained standing where he was and it seemed as though he was apologizing to her. "I heard a call about a four-alarm fire and figured I could have it put out and be back on the bed before you woke up."

_Clark Kent was the Blur _and the last few days suddenly made sense.

The disappearing acts, the nervous glances at his watch when he thought she wasn't looking and the lame excuses when he would show up late. It was all because the Blur was out doing his job.

_Her Smallville was the Blur. _

She should have been upset with him for lying to her, she should have chastised him for not trusting her, but she didn't. All she could think about was how it must have hurt him to have to lie to her because above all, Clark Kent was honest to a fault. And she knew that it went against his nature to be less than truthful.

"Why don't you get cleaned up and we'll talk about this when you get out of the shower?" She finally said and his look was uncertain.

"Lois?"

"It's all right Clark, really." She tried to reassure him. "I'll be right here."

"I won't be long."

"Take your time." She shook her head. " It looks like you had your hands full."

"I'll explain everything." He promised her as he walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

She leaned back against the headboard and tried to sort out what had just happened and then she remembered the conversation between Clark and Chloe that first morning. She knew she shouldn't have been listening, but Chloe seemed so agitated that with Lois' curious nature, she couldn't help it.

She heard them talk about the Blur, about someone called Kal-El and Clark Kent being a disguise. What in the hell did _that_ mean?

It didn't surprise her that Chloe knew about the Blur because she and Clark had been friends for so long. And while that should have irritated her, it didn't. Knowing Clark as she did, she'd bet that he hadn't told her because he was trying to protect her.

And not because she couldn't take care of herself, but he knew that knowing the Blur would make her a target for the criminal element in Metropolis. Her own six foot something mother hen just wanted to look after her, much like he'd done earlier in the afternoon.

_There's a reason for that Lois. _

It was then that she decided that she didn't want to wait and got up from the bed to go talk to him. He couldn't go anywhere and knowing she'd have him at a disadvantage, she couldn't resist. He might have been meteor infected, but he was still Jonathan and Martha Kent's well brought up son.

She got to the bathroom door and hesitated for a moment because it was so reminiscent of the only other time she'd invaded his personal space so blatantly.

'_There's nothing like a little "North by Northwest" action to get the blood pumping, huh?'_

She'd obviously caught him off guard that late morning, and she was about to do it again. And she figured she'd get about the same reaction this time too.

Lois turned the knob and pushed the door open, letting the steam escape. _Smallville and his hot showers. _She quickly closed the door behind her and as she expected, his clothes were hung on the door hook.

_Mrs. K would be pleased._

It was so odd to see the black tee shirt hanging there because she was still processing the fact that the man she loved, the man she worked with everyday, was a hero.

She gave into the urge to press her nose to the fabric and smell it. It was a tantalizing combination of Clark and smoke and it slowly began to dawn on her that he'd single-handedly put out a four-alarm fire. And she had no idea how.

"So are you going to tell me how you did it?"

She heard the thump of the bar of soap as it hit the bottom of the tub and she probably shouldn't have smiled, but she did anyway.

"Lois!" It was obvious that she'd surprised him.

"Relax Smallville. You don't have anything that I haven't seen before." She leaned against the countertop, his shirt in her hands.

"That's not the point!" She could hear the agitation in his voice. "We agreed that the bathroom was off limits if one of us was in here. It's called privacy Lois."

"If we were actually married, there would be no such thing as privacy." She countered. "And I don't know why you're getting your boxers in a bunch; we were just sleeping together."

"You had a headache." She heard him sigh.

"I don't any more." Lois answered and took another whiff of his shirt.

"Because you just gave it to me." He sighed again. "So what was so urgent that you couldn't wait for me to get out of the shower?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Well that's obvious." He remarked and from the sound of his voice, he was retrieving the soap. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you put out that fire?" She cut to the chase.

She didn't hear anything for a moment and Lois was curious to know what he was thinking. "This really isn't a conversation we should be having in here."

"Would it make it easier if I got in there with you?"

"Lois!" His voice cracked and she laughed silently, her bashful farm then he surprised her when _he_ laughed. "If you were in here, the last thing I'd want to do is talk."

That got Lois' attention and she stared at the shower curtain in shock, but she recovered quickly and her face warmed. "You want to test that theory?"

He was quiet again and she couldn't help but wonder if he was actually considering it. "If it weren't so important that we talk, I'd have a hard time saying no."

"Another time maybe." She made the suggestion as she boosted herself off the edge of the counter, not sure how he would answer such a bold offer.

"There's no maybe about it Lois." Came his breathless answer and her skin tingled with the anticipation of the very idea of such intimacy with him.

"Clark?"

"Yes?" He seemed to sense her change in mood and answered accordingly.

"Are you all right with everything?"

"What do you mean?"

A feeling of such deep worry for him came over her and she felt her eyes tear. "You must see such terrible things when you're out there and it makes me wonder how you can do it and still be _you_."

"I can do it because as much as I see the bad things people do, I also see the good things people do, too." She could almost see him shrug. "It can be something as simple as someone offering to carry a bag of groceries or giving someone else the time when they ask. A smile, a laugh, those simple things remind me that as much bad as there is in the world, there's still more good."

"You're amazing Smallville."

"So are you Lois." That made her smile. "You seem to have taken all of this in stride and you're still calling me Smallville."

"That won't change." She told him as she walked to the door and hung his shirt back up. "No matter what happens, you're always going to be my Smallville."

"And you're always going to remind me of that I'm sure." He laughed softly.

"Well, you're going to need _some_one to keep your ego in check." She quipped; knowing her humble hunk of a reporter would never have that problem. "So it might as well be me."

"I wouldn't want it to be anyone else _but_ you." He replied and then she heard him shut off the water. "But in the meantime, you need to get out of here."

"You sure about that?" She had to say it because she knew he would expect it.

"No. But you need to anyway."

"Okay." She nodded and opened the door, stepped outside and closed it behind her. She walked back to the bed and the wash cloth he'd put on her head was still there. No doubt it had left a damp spot on the bedding, so she picked it up and carried it back to the bathroom.

She knocked quickly to warn him before she opened it just enough to toss the cloth onto the counter. "Lois."

"Relax." And she closed the door.

~*~

Ten minutes later the door opened and Clark walked out of the bathroom. His hair was still damp, but he looked a lot better than he had before he walked in. He'd changed back into what he'd been wearing earlier and Lois couldn't remember if she'd ever told him how much she liked the gray tee shirt he had on.

She'd sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for him and he joined her, taking her hand. "Are you mad at me? For not telling you?"

"No." She shook her head. "Maybe I should be, but I'm not."

"Lois, I _had_ actually planned on telling you." He squeezed her hand. "I just wanted to find the right moment so we could talk about it and I could answer all your questions."

_Well Lois, there's no time like the present, _but she didn't even know where to begin.

"The problem is, I have too many." She looked into his eyes. "I've known you for the last five years and there's this side of you that I didn't know existed."

"But it doesn't change who I am Lois, I'm still Clark Kent. I'm still Jonathan and Martha's son and I'm still your Smallville." He grinned bashfully and Lois could see it meant a lot to him to know that he was hers. "I'm still a reporter for the _Daily Planet _and I still love you. What I can do as the Blur doesn't change any of that,"

His words were reassuring, as was his warm grasp, until his fingers closed tightly around hers and he added mysteriously. "But there's something else you need to know."

"What's there to know? You got your abilities from that first meteor shower, right?"

His touch tensed and he sighed. "No."

"The second meteor shower a few years ago?" She asked and Clark shook his head as he got up from the bed. He walked to the bedroom door, running a hand through his damp hair before he turned back around to face her.

"No."

It was obvious that he was still holding something back and Lois wasn't sure why. It wasn't as though he was the first person in Smallville to have developed some sort of meteor power. So she stood up and walked over to him, taking his hands in hers. "Clark, you know that whatever it is you can tell me."

"I just don't want it to change the way you see me." He was looking really worried. "Or the way you feel about me."

"Clark, I'll love you no matter what you tell me." She was trying to reassure him, but wasn't sure if she was doing a good job of it. "Because I love _you_, not what you are."

He nodded his understanding, but still looked so uncertain. "You know that my parents adopted me."

"Sure. But that's not exactly a newsflash."

"But what you don't know is that I'm not originally from Kansas." He started to explain and then stopped so he could take a deep breath. "It's true that I have abilities, but they didn't come from the first meteor shower. The fact is; I came with that first meteor shower."

"With?" It was the only word that she could form because he was revealing something pretty huge and she could see that his uncertainty was becoming fear. "Clark, how did you come _with_ the meteor shower?"

"You might want to sit down for this."

Lois shook her head before she leaned up and kissed him. "Just tell me." She kissed him again to try and give him the courage.

"Lois, I'm not from Earth." His face burned with a blush and he pulled his hands out of hers. Then _he_ was the one who sat back down on the bed. "I'm not human."

Lois was completely floored. _Not human?_

How was that possible when he looked human, he _felt_ human.

He was Clark.

She sat down next to him and took his hand again. She had even more questions then she did before, but she needed to let him tell her about himself. So Lois prompted him with the name she remembered Chloe mentioning. "Are _you_ Kal-El?"

"How do you know about that?" He was absolutely stunned.

"I heard Chloe the morning she was here and when you said you weren't from Earth, it just made sense." She'd just admitted to him that she'd been eavesdropping.

"Lois, nothing about this should make sense."

"Nothing about it at the moment does. But if you give me a little more information, it should help." She encouraged him because she could almost see a weight being lifted off of his shoulders.

"My birth parents gave me the name Kal-El." He looked into her eyes. "I was born on a planet called Krypton and my parents were Jor-El and Lara. By the time I was born, the planet was dying and they decided to send me away, so they could save my life."

"Save your life?" The words struck her like a punch to the gut because if _they_ hadn't saved him, _she_ never would have met him. "Why didn't they come with you?"

"Because he wouldn't leave Krypton and she wouldn't leave _him_." He squeezed her hand. "I never really understood what that meant until now."

_He was so sweet._

"So how did you end up here, on Earth?" As unbelievable as the whole thing was, it was totally believable because it was Clark.

"Jor-El knew that Earth's atmosphere was similar to Krypton's, so I would be able to survive. He built a ship to carry me and then he launched it just before the planet exploded and what people thought was a meteor shower was actually what was left of Krypton."

"I'm sorry." It was all she could think to say and she put her cheek against his shoulder. His parent's sent their only child away to save him because his life was more important than theirs was.

"I would like to have known them, but I couldn't have asked for two better people to raise me." He pressed a kiss in her hair. "And I couldn't have asked for a better place to grow up."

"Spoken like a farm boy from Kansas." She rubbed her cheek against the fabric of his shirt and the scent was all him. "You were lucky to have them as parents."

"I was even luckier that they were the ones that found me." He told her. "I can't imagine how my life would have turned out if it had been anyone else."

"They were lucky to find you too, you know." She sat up and smiled at him. "And so was I."

"We all won, Lois." He grasped her hand again. "You, me, Mom and Dad. We all found each other and our lives were made richer for it."

Lois couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think you honestly believed that when we first met."

"Okay, I'll give you that." He grinned back. "But I finally figured it out and that's all that matters."

"True." She had to agree. "So how about letting me in on these abilities of yours? You still haven't told me exactly how you put out that fire."

"Why don't you let me show you how I can start one first?" He suggested and then stood up, holding out his hand to her. "It's pretty straightforward."

"All right." She took his hand and he pulled her up, walking out to the sitting room. He stopped in front of the fireplace and it had been set up earlier that day at Lois' request.

Clark had told her that he didn't mind, but she felt that building a fire would be the last thing a groom on his honeymoon would want to deal with.

"So how does this work?" She looked up at him and he shook his head in amusement.

"Just give me a second." He smiled. "One of the abilities I have is heat vision."

"Excuse me?" _Did he say heat vision?_

"It's exactly like it sounds Lois and it works like this, so watch." She saw him stare into the fireplace and with a sudden burst of heat, she jumped when the fireplace came to life and a fire was crackling in the hearth.

"How in the hell did you do that?"

"I just focus." He shrugged and seemed so nonchalant about the whole thing. "When my abilities first started showing up, I had no idea how to control them. And Dad tried to help even though he knew as much about them as _I_ did. But he always seemed to find the right thing to say when I would get frustrated because I couldn't figure it out."

"He wouldn't have been Jonathan Kent if he couldn't."

"That's true."

"So what other tricks do you have up your sleeve?" She asked him as she looked at the fire he'd started. He was going to come in handy during the winter.

"Well for starters, I can put out four alarm fires with my breath." He chuckled and Lois rolled her eyes. "I can see through solid objects, I can run from here to Smallville in about five seconds, two and a half if I'm in a hurry and right now I can hear Shelby barking at a squirrel in the front yard."

_Hold it. _"You can see through solid objects?"

"I can see things like a x-ray." He explained to her. "It's how I knew that Chloe wasn't buried at the Smallville Cemetery or that Shelby had an ID tag under his skin when we thought he was lost."

"And you can hear him barking?" _That was so cool. _"How do you know it's him and not just some random dog?"

"Because I know Shelby's bark and I know how he sounds when he's found a squirrel in the tree." He was matter of fact about it. "And if you'll excuse me for just a second, I think that squirrel needs some help getting away from Shelby."

"You're going to rescue a squirrel out of a tree." She laughed. "I thought it was only cats that got that treatment."

"I've rescued a few of those." He gave her a shrug and then smiled. "But why shouldn't a squirrel get the same consideration?"

"Why not?" She kissed him. "Go help that squirrel, I'll be right here."

"I'll be right back." He was gone in a rush of wind and just as she sat down on the couch and got comfortable he was back, closing the balcony doors behind him.

"You think that's such a good idea Smallville? Someone might see you." Lois looked toward the doors and watched him as he walked to the couch and sat down, taking her hand in his. "So what was that exactly?"

"Super speed." He lifted her hand and kissed the backs of her fingers. "It really cuts down on the commute time between Smallville and Metropolis. And as far as being seen, I'm careful."

"I guess it's my turn to be a mother hen." She sighed and put her cheek on his arm; an action that was becoming a comforting habit. "You've entrusted me with something pretty amazing, but now I'm going to worry knowing you're out there putting it all on the line for us."

"You don't need to worry Lois; I'm invulnerable to everything but Kryptonite." He was trying to help ease her fears.

"Kryptonite is those green rocks that are always showing up around Smallville?" She looked up at him and he nodded. "And that's your home world."

"Yeah. And it's those fragments of Krypton that can strip me of my abilities and leave me as vulnerable as a normal human."

Lois didn't like the sound of that, and she suddenly remembered the incident at the _Ace of Clubs_. "Clark, when you took that bullet for me, there was Kryptonite in that room, wasn't there?"

"It was being used in the dye when they were printing the counterfeit money." He nodded again. "It was a good thing that you showed up when you did because you saved my life."

"I was only returning the favor because I have the feeling you've probably saved mine a few times."

"And I guess it would be a waste of breath to ask you to be more careful?" His eyes pleaded with her. "Things are different with us now and I don't want to worry that I might lose you."

"As long as the Blur is around to rescue me, I don't need to worry." Maybe she shouldn't have been so flip about it, but as long as Clark was around, she'd be all right.

"But if you get yourself in trouble, the Blur may not always be able to get to you in time." He was trying to make her understand. "And it would devestate me if anything happened to you. So _please_, promise me that you'll be careful and wont take any unnecessary risks."

There was a haunted look in his eyes that hurt her to see and she nodded. "I promise."

"Thank you."

"Your mother hen routine is seriously going to cramp my style, you know that." She couldn't resist the urge to needle him.

"That's what I live for Lois." He grinned at her feigned indignation. "Because if it means that I get to keep you in my life for that much longer, then I'll cluck away."

"Fine." She sighed dramatically and then tapped her lips. "But in the meantime, why don't you plant your beak right here and give me a peck."

"My beak?" His amusement made her smile even more.

"You heard me." She tipped her face up. "So what do you say?"

"My beak is yours." And he kissed her.


	15. Coming Clean

_The warm body he was holding shifted in sleep and he brushed gentle fingers down the hip of the woman who'd captured his heart without even trying. And the heart that belonged to her swelled with a happiness he never thought he'd know because he never thought he'd love someone as much as he loved her._

_He kissed her shoulder and didn't realize she was awake until she caught him by surprise when her fingers were suddenly in his hair. _

"_You're awake." His voice was husky with sleep and he felt her shiver which made him pull her close against him. "You're cold." _

"_I'm not cold." She shook her head and nudged him away a little before she rolled over. And when she smiled at him, he knew without a doubt in his mind that she was the love of his life. "I'm happy, Smallville." _

_Her gray eyes fairly glowed and he smiled back. "Me too, Lois."_

His eyes were open in a flash.

_Lois._

All this time it had been her that Clark had been dreaming about, her that he'd made love with. _Why didn't that surprise him?_

It was the beginning of a new day, in more ways than one because he was no longer keeping any secrets from her. It was a load off of his mind and his heart to know that she now knew about the Blur and about Kal-El and she still loved him.

But as she'd told him the night before, in spite of the incredible abilities he had it didn't change that fact that he _was_ still Clark Kent, her Smallville.

He liked the idea of being someone's someone. And he liked even more the idea that not only was he still Smallville, but he was _her_ Smallville.

It was funny how a name, that had been given to him to poke fun at his small town upbringing, could turn out to be one that he didn't think he could live without hearing.

Part of him had been afraid that once he'd told Lois about his true origins that she would stop calling him that, but he should have known better. 'Smallville' wasn't going anywhere and for that he couldn't help but smile.

He smiled even more because after quickly realizing that Lois wasn't in bed, he heard the water in the shower. She'd promised him that she would get in before him at least one morning before they checked out. And with two days to go, she'd finally done it.

He had to admit to feeling some disappointment that she wasn't there with him, but he didn't because she wasn't that far away. It crossed his mind briefly though, to exact a little payback by surprising her. But he knew what his mother's reaction would be and she wouldn't hesitate to voice her disapproval.

So he didn't.

Lois would tease him mercilessly if she knew what was going through his mind, but he had no intention of ever letting her in on it for that very reason.

Instead he tossed back the blankets, swung his feet over the side of the bed and sat up. He glanced over at the bathroom door as he ran a hand through his sleep rumpled hair and had to squelch the memory of Lois holding a back scrubber over her head. She'd been ready to strike and the look of shock on her face as he stood there staring at her, trying desperately not to appraise her.

Clark shook his head to clear the vision of so much skin and took a deep breath before he walked out to the sitting room. He figured they'd probably be eating in again, so he decided to start a fire.

He could have done it the easy way, but he didn't want to.

Being with Lois, he felt the most like Clark Kent; well, with Lois and Mom. Chloe, Pete, Lana and even Oliver to an extent had treated him differently once they'd found out where he was from and what he could do,

Lois was treating him as she always had and that made him feel, human.

He moved the fire screen aside before he found the previous day's _Planet_ and crumpled up a few sheets of the paper. He shoved the paper under the grate and then laid a few small pieces of kindling on top.

He reached up for the box of matches on the mantle and then started at the sound of Lois' soft voice behind him. "You don't need to do it that way if you don't want to, you know. I don't mind if you use your heat vision."

Clark looked over his shoulder at the woman who'd come to mean so much to him and smiled. "I appreciate that Lois. But if it's all the same to you, I'd like to do it the way I usually do."

"Fine by me." She shrugged and smiled back as she walked into the sitting room and curled up on the couch. Her hair was damp and she was wrapped up in a bathrobe that the hotel had provided. "As long as you get it started, that's all that matters."

He shook his head in amusement; Lois certainly had her priorities.

"You must've been having a nice dream earlier." She remarked and Clark felt his face heat as he struck a match and touched the paper. He watched it catch and then the kindling started to burn. "You're usually awake a couple of hours before me, but you were dead to the world."

_If only she knew. _

"It was." He nodded as he reached for a couple of medium sized pieces of wood and set them on top of the kindling. It would take a few minutes for them to catch, so he replaced the fire screen while he waited and decided to tell her. "It was about you."

Clark stood up and turned to face Lois. "The truth is, I've been dreaming about you for the last few weeks." He revealed. "I just didn't know it was you until this morning."

"You didn't know it was me?" The look on her face was wary and he wasn't sure why. "Who else would it be?"

"I couldn't see her face, so I had no idea." It was his turn to shrug. "But it seemed that the closer we got to starting this assignment, the more-" _how could he put it? _"involved the dreams got."

If Clark didn't know better, Lois was losing a little color in her face and he started to worry that she was having a recurrence of her previous day's migraine.

"When did these dreams start?" She asked him a little breathlessly and started to play with the belt of her bathrobe.

"A few weeks ago." He answered, noting her nervousness. "Not long after I got back, in fact."

"Oh." She couldn't seem to look at him and Clark frowned with concern.

"Lois, what is it?"

She cleared her throat and glanced up at him for a short moment before she looked back down at the belt she grasped in her fingers. "These dreams you were having started out with some kissing and ended up seriously warming the sheets?"

"That's it." Now Clark was feeling a little wary. "That's a good guess."

"It's not a guess Smallville." Her voice had dropped to a whisper and she cleared her throat again. "I've been having the same dream, about you."

_Really? _

"Lois?"

"They started after you came back and I didn't know it was you either." She looked up at him and her face had gone from the color of paste, to a rosy red. "And I couldn't figure out who it might be because there hasn't been anyone but you that I've been remotely attracted to."

_No one?_

Clark found himself fighting a grin because he knew that there was _one_ other person who'd caught her interest. "Lois."

She knew what he was going to say because her face flushed a deeper red. "And it turned out to be _you, _go figure."

"I'm sorry Lois." The urge to grin disappeared because he realized that it wasn't the time for humor. "I never meant to make things difficult for you, and I never meant to confuse things either. "

The look on her face didn't tell him much and Clark didn't know if that was good or bad. "Was it easier talking to me as the Blur?"

"It shouldn't have been because I've never had trouble talking to you." He nodded. "But in those last few weeks before you disappeared, things had gotten so tense between us."

"There was a reason for that Clark." She sighed. "I was in love with you and I knew that you didn't love me. And when those two things come into play in a friendship, things are bound to get tense."

"I'm sorry Lois, I'm sorry that I wasn't ready to see it." He turned around to check on the fire. The wood had caught and was burning quickly, so he pulled the fire screen aside again. He laid more wood on the grate and watched as the newer pieces caught and began to burn. _That should last for awhile. _

He replaced the fire screen and turned back to face Lois. "After everything that happened and the way it ended, the last thing on my mind was romance. I felt something for you but I wasn't ready to consider what it might be."

"So when _did_ you realize that you were ready?" She glanced up at him again and when he heard the hesitance in her voice he didn't waste any time. Clark walked to the couch and sat down, taking Lois' trembling hand in his and he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"When you disappeared and I couldn't find you." He laced his fingers through hers and his own hand began to shake. "Until then I didn't really realize how important you were to me and without you here, there wasn't any reason to stay."

"Clark." There was a look of genuine surprise on her face, but before she had a chance to say anything else, they were interrupted with a knock at the door of the suite. He didn't want to leave things the way they were, but a second knock got Lois to slip her hand out of his. "We can finish this after you answer the door."

"Lois?"

"Don't look so worried." She gave him a soft smile and an even softer kiss before she pushed against his chest. "Get that and I'm going to get dressed."

"Do you have to?" Clark hadn't meant to say it, it just slipped out and he didn't know who was more surprised at his comment, him or Lois. Or whose face had become more red.

He scrambled up and then stumbled backward, unable to say anything else. All that did was make her laugh and _she_ stood up. "I think it's probably a good idea."

"Lois, I didn't-" _Mean it that way? _

"Yes you did." She stepped toward him and for a reason Clark couldn't explain, he kept backing up. "And I find it incredibly sweet that you still get so flustered. And it's pretty sexy too." She added with a wink before she kissed him again and made a beeline for the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

_Sexy? _He couldn't help but blush at the thought that she considered something _he_ did, sexy.

Clark stumbled again when there was a third knock at the door and he heard a laugh from the bedroom. "You need to go get that Smallville."

What he wanted to do was go get Lois, but he walked to the door instead and opened it. Standing on the other side were Dan and Emily Morgan.

Clark's flushed face must have given them the idea that they'd interrupted the honeymoon because Mr. Morgan backed up. "We're awfully sorry son, we didn't mean to take you away from your wife."

He shook his head and then ran a hand through his hair. "You didn't really. Lois is getting dressed and I was getting a fire started."

"It _is_ rather chilly out this morning." Mrs. Morgan commented. "I'm sure she appreciates your thoughtfulness."

"It's easy with her." Clark answered and they weren't just words; it really was.

"As it should be." Mr. Morgan agreed with a smile. "We wouldn't have stopped by so early, but since Em and I are checking out later, we thought we'd ask the two of you to join us for breakfast. Our treat."

'_I really think we need to tell them the whole story before they check out tomorrow.' _Lois' words echoed in his head.

"We'd like that, but I insist that you let us pay."

"That's not up for discussion." He shook his head.

Mrs. Morgan also shook her head and Clark nodded reluctantly before he smiled. "We'd like that."

"Very good." Mr. Morgan smiled back. "We need to be out of here by noon, so how does nine-thirty sound? Then that way, we can take our time."

"Nine-thirty it is." He nodded again. "I'll let Lois know."

"That's fine son. What do you say to that coffee shop we went to yesterday?"

"We'll meet you down there." Clark replied.

"Very good." He repeated. "Well we'll let you go and we'll see you at nine-thirty."

"We'll be there." Clark told them and as they turned and walked down the hall he closed the door. He leaned against it for a moment and sighed, hoping they would be as nice when he and Lois told them the truth.

The struggling fire caught his attention and Clark pushed himself away from the door. He grabbed the poker after he'd put the fire screen aside and pushed at the wood in a way to get the pieces to keep burning, just the way Dad had taught him.

He heard the door to the bedroom open and when he looked over his shoulder, Lois had a pensive look on her face. "Breakfast with the Morgan's?"

"Yeah." Clark nodded. "We're meeting them downstairs at nine-thirty."

"You know what this means." Lois sighed and walked into the room. He knew, but it didn't stop him from appreciating how pretty she was. Her hair was still damp and hung loose around her shoulders. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a light purple top, covered by a long sleeved matching sweater.

He never used to notice what she wore, but now it seemed he took notice of everything, no matter how casual because it was Lois.

"I know what it means." He answered. "But you were right; we do need to tell them."

She came to a stop in front of him and put a hand on his arm. "If it were anyone else but them, I wouldn't care. But they've been so nice to us and I don't want them leaving without knowing the truth."

"I know. And I don't want you to get another migraine over this, either." He put a hand over hers. "In the meantime, I'm going to take a shower."

"You want some company?" Lois grinned at him and he laughed, feeling his face warm.

"As tempting as that idea is, you need to stay out here." Clark leaned over and kissed her. "Otherwise, we'll be late."

"Well at least you didn't say no." She lifted an eyebrow at him and he knew just what to say.

"Not this time." He stepped away from her, from the stunned look on her face at his unexpected remark and held a grin until he'd walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

~*~

Lois' hand was shaking as she stood next to Clark in the elevator, her fingers laced through his.

The closer it had come to leaving the room; she'd started to find any reason not to go downstairs. From making the bed, which he'd kept telling her the housekeeping staff could do, to fluffing the couch cushions in the sitting room. She'd even poked at the fire to keep it going.

When that didn't work, she'd tried to side track _him_ with kisses so incendiary that it took every ounce of willpower that he could muster not to pick her up and carry her into the bedroom, forgetting about breakfast.

But he knew it was exactly what she had been counting on.

"I hope they don't hate us." Clark felt Lois' cheek against his shoulder.

"They won't hate us." He pressed a kiss to her hair, trying to reassure her. "They'll probably be surprised, but they won't hate us."

"Well _I_ hate us." She told him and he squeezed her hand.

"Come on Lois." Clark ran a thumb across her knuckles. "Meeting them wasn't something we planned on. And we couldn't very well tell them in the middle of a crowded ballroom that we weren't really married, could we? Or that we're reporters here for a story?"

"I guess not."

"Honey, we're setting it right before they leave, so just remember that."

_Honey. _He really liked saying that.

"Yeah." It was all she said before the elevator doors opened and he heard her sigh. He tugged on her hand as he walked into the lobby and felt Lois resist a little but she followed behind him just the same.

"Come on." He urged her again. "The sooner we have breakfast, the sooner we get this over with."

"Okay." She caught up to him and looked into his eyes. "But you owe me."

"How can I owe you? This was your idea." Clark had a pretty good idea of how she wanted him to pay her back, but it didn't mean that she couldn't pay him back in the same way.

"Oh yeah." She sighed as they approached the coffee shop and Lois' hand tightened around his.

"It's going to be okay Lois." He grasped her fingers and when they walked inside, Clark saw the Morgan's seated at the same booth where they'd had their pie and coffee the afternoon before.

They were waved over and he waited for Lois to sit down and when she scoot over, he slid in next to her.

"Right on time." Mr. Morgan grinned.

"It helped that Lois got into the shower a few hours before I did." Clark smiled at Lois.

"Don't let him fool you." She leveled a look at him before looking at the older couple. "He can take marathon showers too."

They looked at each other and Clark could see the other couple trying not to smile.

A waitress came to the table and after taking their orders for four cups of coffee, she gave them menus to look over. As he looked at the choices, Lois pressed her knee against his and he knew what it was she wanted to do.

The question was, _how_?

"So how are you feeling, young lady?" Lois' head popped up at Mr. Morgan's question. "Em didn't think you were looking too good when we left you here yesterday."

_That_ was how.

"I had a migraine." Her face flushed and Clark knew the door had been opened.

"What brought it on honey?" Mrs. Morgan looked concerned and he heard Lois sigh quietly.

Before she could answer though, the waitress came back with a tray and set it down on the table. Each of the four mugs she carried was set down in front of Clark, Lois and the Morgan's as well as cream and sugar. "Are you ready to order?"

"I think we're still deciding." Mr. Morgan told her.

"That's fine." She smiled at him and picked up the tray. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Mrs. Morgan smiled back and as the waitress left, her attention went back to Lois. "So what brought on your migraine?"

Clark was sure Lois was thinking, _'Crap'._

"Guilt."

_Here we go. _

"I'm sorry?" The older man asked. "Guilt?"

Lois looked at Clark and she was begging him to explain and he nodded. "Lois and I haven't been truthful with you about something."

"What's that, son?" His look was curious.

"We're not married." Lois blurted out. "We're not even dating."

"Yet." Clark remarked quietly.

"Then-" Mrs. Morgan looked confused. "What are you doing here?"

"We're reporters at the _Daily Planet_." Clark explained. "We were assigned this story as a public service to engaged couples."

Lois snorted her distain and began to study her menu. "She did it so I would quit."

"And we agreed that you're not going anywhere." Clark reached for her hand. "That's why we did this."

"What exactly _are_ you doing?" Mrs. Morgan was smiling. "Other than performing a public service?"

"Dad would call it reconnaissance." Lois looked up again. "We were sent here to pose as a married couple and see what the _Regent_ had to offer honeymooners. And at the end of the week, we'll write up a story."

"And you kids are here in a completely professional capacity?" Mr. Morgan asked and looked like he didn't quite believe them. "There aren't any feelings involved?"

"Well-" Lois glanced at Clark. "Not exactly."

"Do you mind my asking just what kinds of feelings are involved?" Mrs. Morgan's voice was gentle. "Because you're either two very good actors or you're in love with each other."

"Em." Mr. Morgan shook his head. "That's kind of personal."

"True. And they don't need to tell us if they don't want to." She conceded. "But since they just told us something that we didn't need to know, I just thought I'd ask."

"_Do_ you love each other?" He asked cautiously and Clark nodded.

"We're still adjusting to it."

"That's why you were so convincing." Mr. Morgan grinned. "You have that uncertainty about you that people have when they first fall in love or when they're newly married."

"You're not mad?" Lois sounded surprised.

"Honey, you were here to do a job and sometimes things happen that you can't anticipate." She reached over for Lois' hand and grasped it. "I'd wager that you weren't planning on having to actually act like a married couple until you came to our anniversary party."

"And I'm sure having that young man there didn't help things." Mr. Morgan added. "I'm sorry that this whole thing gave you a migraine because Em and I like you whether you're married or not. You remind us of _us_ when we were just starting out, reporters or not."

Clark could feel Lois beginning to relax next to him and he knew she was feeling a lot better. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Mrs. Morgan sat back. "And I'm sure that Danny would agree with me if I invited you to our home for Thanksgiving. That is, if you don't have any plans."

They did because Mom was flying in from Washington the day before.

"We appreciate that, but my mother is going to be home. And she's looking forward to cooking in her own kitchen." Clark smiled.

"So am I." Lois glanced at him. "Smallville here doesn't have much of a menu."

"It's more than _you've_ got." He smiled at her. "Which is nothing."

"Hey." She gave him a quick punch and all he did was laugh.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"Hey!" She punched him again but then started to laugh. "For a comment like that, I might just have to cook something."

"And put us both in the hospital? I don't think so." He tossed back and out of the corner of his eye saw the Morgan's smiling at each other. "Let's just wait until Mom gets home and maybe you can talk her into teaching you how to cook."

"It's your house, she can teach _you_."

"She already did Lois." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I think it's your turn now."

"Can I at least have breakfast first?"

By this point, Clark and Lois's breakfast companions were laughing and he realized that they were doing what they'd always done; they were bickering.

"I must say that breakfast has never quite been this entertaining." Mr. Morgan finally said with a grin.

"It comes from years of practice." Clark smiled back a little self-consciously. They always seemed to go off into their own little world when they were trying to verbally best the other. And they'd succeeded in doing it again.

"Well I think it's safe to say that you'll have a few more." Mrs. Morgan commented as the waitress came to the table.

"We'll see about that." Lois rolled her eyes as Clark took her hand with a smile.

''_Yeah Lois, we will.''_


	16. Time Grows Short

Lois had gotten in over her head, of that she had no doubt; not that it was necessarily a bad thing.

She and Clark had admitted to virtual strangers that not only were they not really married, but that they were reporters on assignment. And the couple that had taken such a liking to them could see that they loved each other.

_Was it really that obvious? _

It must have been if a happily married couple of fifty years could see it, not that she couldn't. But while the dynamic with Clark _had_ changed, it was still so much the same.

Maybe that's why it was so much easier than she'd thought it would be, adjusting to a budding romantic relationship with him.

He was still her Smallville, in spite of learning that he wasn't from Earth. He was still Clark, he still sat across the desk from her and he was still the love of her life.

_That_ was something new. Knowing without a doubt in your mind that the man you loved, the man who loved you back was _it_. Knowing that there wouldn't be anyone else, ever, because no one else would ever make you feel as loved, wanted and safe as he could.

And he did.

Lois had always known that Clark would never let anything happen to her. She'd lost count of how many times he'd gotten her out of a jam she'd found herself in and he would always play the big brother card, imploring her to be more careful.

And then she would play the indignant little sister card, annoyed that he didn't think she could take care of herself.

To say that the deck had been shuffled was an understatement because the cards they were now playing were stacking up to a lifetime together. She felt it in her heart and she got the feeling that he did too.

Not only was it in what he was saying, but in what he was doing.

He was quickly gaining a confidence with her that she'd only seen glimpses of in the years they'd known each other, but he could never seem to hold on to.

It had always irritated her that Lana seemed to disapprove of it and Chloe had never appreciated it.

As much as Lois loved her baby cousin, she always seemed to have the expectation that Clark should defer to her and being the well-mannered guy that he was, he usually did.

Lana just seemed to want someone to adore her.

And he had.

It wasn't that Lois didn't want Clark to adore _her_, because she did. But she wanted more than that with him and she knew he wanted more than that with her too. The relationship they were starting to build together was an extension of their solid friendship.

That meant not losing the ingredients that had created it in the first place; namely their ability to give each other a bad time and not take offense.

That was still definitely in place. But with their feelings for each other out in the open, their habit of trying to one up the other had taken on a romantic edge that made her heart flutter.

Who would have ever believed that Clark Kent could make Lois Lane's heart flutter?

Who would have ever believed that Lois Lane had the ability to keep a smile on the face of Clark Kent? Only his parents had been able to do that, so Lois felt herself in some pretty exclusive company.

By the time they were finished with breakfast, Clark and Lois had agreed to stop at the Morgan's farm on Thanksgiving Day for a visit and to take a walk around their farm. It didn't seem to matter that he was now a reporter, because Clark never missed an opportunity to see how other farmers ran things.

It was something Mr. Kent had instilled in him, even though he never wanted his only son to become a farmer himself. His father felt that you could never know too much about a subject and should always be willing to learn more.

Did that apply to marriage too?

The fact was, Lois felt that she'd learned a lot about that subject just by talking to the Morgan's over the last couple of days. They were two people who were still happy together; comfortable in who they were and after fifty years, still held hands.

The Kent's had been like that too.

Mr. Kent had never hesitated in reaching for Mrs. Kent's hand when they would take a walk around the farm or when she would go into town with him. He wasn't shy about letting people know that he loved his wife and liked being close to her.

Clark was beginning to do that himself, with her. She tried to tell herself that his constantly reaching for her, touching her and kissing her was because of the roles they were playing. But she knew that it wasn't true; it was because he loved her and wanted to be close to her.

And she wanted to be close to him too.

The question was how close was close? And if it was as close as she'd literally been dreaming about, was she ready for it? Was _he_?

It was something she thought about as she and Clark walked the Morgan's to their car after they'd checked out.

She'd come to feel kind of close to the older couple in the short days they'd known each other. In the way that they reminded the Morgan's of themselves when they were young, _they_ had given Lois a glimpse of what she and Clark could be like.

And it made her smile because she could see that they probably wouldn't change.

"Take care of yourself honey." Mrs. Morgan pulled Lois into a hug. "And don't work too hard."

"Lois doesn't know how else to work." Clark earned a glare from her when he laughed. "I have a hard time keeping up with her."

"Then it's your job to get her to slow down." Mr. Morgan said to him with a smile and a handshake.

"Dan." His wife scolded him and Lois dipped her head so they wouldn't see her smile. Clark did though, because she felt his hand wrap around hers and squeeze.

'_They sound like us, don't they?'_

"What?" Came the puzzled reply. "That's what two people do when they care about each other. They take care of each other."

"Well did you need to be so blunt?" She gave him a withering look that impressed Lois.

"Yes." He wasn't phased. "You know I'm no good at being subtle. That's _your_ department.

"I suppose it is." She conceded before she put a hand on Clark's arm. "You need to look after her too. She's a strong young woman, but I'd wager a lot of that strength comes from having you at her side."

_Is that how she and Clark looked to them? _

"A lot of my strength comes from her too, so that won't be a problem." He promised with a smile.

_Was he serious?_

"That's good." He shook Clark's hand again. "Well, it's time for us to get on the road. Our boys have been pulling double duty so Em and I could stay here for the week, so it's time we let them off the hook."

"It's what kids do for their parents." Clark answered with a smile. "You took care of them when they were growing up, so they're just returning the favor."

"You're a sweet boy." Mrs. Morgan put a hand on his cheek and he flushed. "You've done your parents proud, honey."

_That farm boy charm seemed to work on any woman, no matter how old she was. _

"I'd like to think so." He shrugged as Mr. Morgan opened the door for his wife and she got in.

"If you ever find yourself in need of extra hands on your farm, let me know." Mr. Morgan offered, knowing that Clark himself was pulling double duty.

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

"You take care of yourself, young lady." He took Lois' hand in between both of his and lowered his voice. "I appreciate the kindness you showed my wife. Too many kids your age can't be bothered talking to us oldsters and it meant a lot to me and to her that you did."

"She was a lot of fun to talk to." Lois smiled at him. "And just so you know, you remind me of my dad."

He looked surprised at her comment and then laughed. "Is that good or bad?"

"It's good." She assured him as he let go of her hand and walked around the car and took the keys from the parking attendant. He raised his hand in farewell before he got in the car and closed the door.

The engine came to life and the attendant stepped back as the car started forward and they waved one more time before pulling away.

Clark took her hand and laughed. "He reminds you of your dad?"

"Yeah." Lois nodded as he pulled her toward the front door and they walked back into the hotel. "You only met him that one time, so you wouldn't know."

"True." He agreed with her. "So when's the last time you talked to him?"

"A couple of weeks ago." She looked up at him. "He was thinking that I could go back to Washington for Thanksgiving this year."

"Oh." He tried to sound casual about it and failed miserably.

"I didn't say I would." Lois tugged on his hand to get his attention. "I told him I'd think about it."

"Well, why don't you invite your dad back here?" He suggested. "I know Mom wouldn't mind."

"Here?" Lois wasn't too sure about that. "I don't know Smallville. Dad can be a little overwhelming."

"So can his daughter, so what's the problem?" Clark grinned at her as they reached the elevator and Lois pulled her keycard out of her pocket. She slipped it into the slot and he pushed the call button.

"It's not quite the same Clark." She pocketed the keycard and a moment later; the doors of one of the elevator cars opened and they stepped on. "You and your mom have the watered down version. Dad is definitely full strength."

That made him laugh again. "Full strength or not, he _is_ your dad. And I think it would be nice if the four of us spent Thanksgiving together."

_He was a family man at heart, wasn't he?_

"Ask your mom if it's okay." Lois took his hand. "And if it is, I'll ask Dad if he can come out."

"Fair enough." He nodded and then she felt his hand tense as he got a look that was all business.

"Duty calls?" _Get used to it, Lois. _

"I'm sorry." He nodded with a sigh and she could sense his agitation as he waited. "I'll try not to be too long."

"Don't worry about me Clark." Lois shook her head as the elevator finally came to a stop on their floor and the doors opened. "Just do what you have to."

"Thank you." He kissed her, stepped off and was gone in a rush of wind.

_Get used to it, Lois. _She told herself again because she had the feeling it was going to be a regular thing with him.

But she figured that he was going to be gone for awhile, so she decided to go back downstairs to the boutique in the lobby. If she was going to get him to go along with what she was contemplating, then she had to give him a presentation he wouldn't be able to resist.

_She hoped._

~*~

He wasn't in the room when she got back upstairs, so she decided to take a walk.

Lois could hear Clark's worried admonition echo in her ears as she walked the block around the hotel. _'Lois, this isn't Smallville and you can't walk around the city like it is.' _

That's what her mother hen would say, _if he knew_.

But as much as she appreciated his concern, nothing was going to happen to her walking the measly block around the _Regent Hotel_. At least, that's what she told herself as she wove her way in between other pedestrians because she knew that trouble had a knack for finding her.

And she didn't imagine that the Blur would be too happy either, having to extricate her from an unforeseen situation.

So in uncharacteristic deference to Clark and his alter ego, Lois kept her eyes open as she strolled around the block. It was a beautiful day, she had to admit, and it was even better when she felt a large, warm and familiar hand wrap around hers. She hadn't expected him to come looking for her, but couldn't help but be glad that he did.

"I was starting to feel like a stalker." Clark grinned at her. "People were giving me some pretty strange looks as I tried to keep you in sight."

"Smallville, as tall as you are, you shouldn't have that problem." She told him. "And I'm not exactly petite, so you _really_ shouldn't have had that problem."

"All the guys who were watching you distracted me." His grin faded to a frown. "This may surprise you, but you turn a few heads."

Don't smile Lois; _he was jealous._

"Clark, the only head I want to turn is yours." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "And just so you know, you turn a few heads yourself."

"I do not." His frown deepened with embarrassment because whether he wanted to admit it or not, he'd been aware of the looks _he'd_ been getting since they'd been at the hotel and they made him uncomfortable. "Besides, the only head _I_ want to turn is yours."

"You do." She laughed softly. "So how did everything go?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle." He shrugged. "I'm just glad that things have been kind of quiet this week."

"Me too." Lois caught his eye. "Because that means I've had you mostly to myself."

"I'm not complaining." He seemed to relax and smiled at her again.

"As if you would."

"And if I did, you'd just ignore me."

"You've got that right." Lois assured him with a tug on his hand. "Come on; let's keep moving."

"If you're cold, we can go back." His look of concern was appreciated but she shook her head.

"Not yet."

"Are you sure? There's a possibility of snow later."

"That's later, Smallville." She tugged again. "And speaking of later, don't forget that we decided to go down to the dining room for dinner so we could evaluate the wait staff."

"I don't have to wear a suit, do I?" He asked with a sigh and she was about to roll her eyes when he suddenly stood stock-still; Lois knew what that meant. She was about to finish the short walk she'd started, by herself and the look of regret on his face confirmed it. "Lois."

"Go." She told him quietly before she leaned up and whispered. "Metropolis needs you."

"And I need you." He looked into her eyes. "I hope you know that."

"I know." She smiled at him and gave his chest a gentle push. "Now go."

"Going." He squeezed her fingers and then walked away. She watched him for as long as she could until he turned a corner and was gone.

She'd once told Ollie that she didn't want to share him with the rest of the world and yet here she was, willing to share Clark.

The difference was, in spite of his protecting Metropolis as the Blur, Lois knew that she came first.

~*~

Metropolis suddenly seemed to be causing trouble for her in what was the last night she and Clark were going to be spending at the _Regent_. It didn't seem possible that nearly a week had gone by and the days had been full, Clark's admission to her aside.

He'd met her back at the room, after she'd taken a second circuit around the block and they'd decided to start compiling their notes. Lois wanted to have as much of the information as they had, organized so they could begin work on the story when they returned to the _Planet_ Monday morning.

No sooner had they begun however, than he was out the door and she sighed.

Lois tried not to resent the time that the Blur was suddenly taking away from her and Clark. What he did for Metropolis and the world was so important, but she couldn't help but feel a little irritated. She'd finally found a guy that really made her happy and she wanted to be able to spend as much time with him as she could.

But as she put her fingers to her damp lips, where Clark had kissed her before he blurred off, she knew that he probably wasn't much happier than she was; but he had a job to do.

So Lois squared her shoulders and decided to go back down to the lobby. There was no sense in stewing over something that was going to be a part of their lives and since she didn't know how long he was going to be gone, she turned her mind back to the job at hand. Namely, compiling more information for their story.

When Lois got downstairs, she found an out of the way spot and settled in so she could observe the interactions between the guests and the _Regent_ staff.

She and Clark had been taken care of so well and she was curious to know if it was because they were in a pricey suite, or if it was standard practice. They had been told when they checked in that everyone was treated the same, Lois just wanted to see if it was actually true.

And to her satisfaction, it was.

Whether it was watching the desk clerk with late check-ins or the bellman talking to them as they were escorted to the elevator, everyone was treated with the same courtesy, no matter what room they were staying in.

Even the parking attendants treated everyone like they were special guests of the hotel.

Lois had never been one to impress easily, but she was _very_ impressed with the courtesy and professionalism that the _Regent_ extended to anyone who made the choice to stay with them.

But the extra care that they extended to guests who were honeymooning or there for an anniversary was something she knew that couples would appreciate.

A glance at her watch told her she'd been down there long enough. She'd spent the better part of the afternoon just watching and taking mental notes about what she'd seen, but when she glanced outside and noticed that it was starting to get dark, she decided to go back up to the room.

Her body protested as she stood up and Lois realized with surprise that she hadn't moved since she'd come downstairs, so she surreptitiously stretched as she walked back to the elevator.

She figured that Clark either wasn't back yet, or he'd blurred off again because he hadn't come looking for her as he'd done earlier that afternoon. But she realized why when she got back to their room.

She slipped the keycard into the lock and when it clicked, she turned the handle. When she walked inside, her heart squeezed in her chest at the sight before her and then she began to shake.

The lights in the room had been turned down and a fire was crackling cheerfully in the fireplace. Light and shadows bounced off the walls and a table was set for a romantic dinner for two, complete with candlelight and a bottle of bubbly chilling in a champagne bucket; never mind that Smallville didn't drink.

The question was, did he have something in mind?

And if he did, was is what _she_ had in mind?

"I hope this is okay." Clark's soft voice startled her and she looked toward the double doors that led into the bedroom. "I thought since this was our last night, we could eat here."

"We were going to critique the wait staff, remember?" Her face warmed as he boosted himself off the doorjamb and maybe it was because the room was dim, but he looked so big.

He was all of his six foot five and seemed to fill the doorway.

"We can still do that Lois." He smiled at her and the confidence in it made her heart race. "It just won't be in a crowded dining room."

He walked toward her slowly and it struck her that he wanted her to really look at him. He wanted her to see that he wasn't the dorky farm boy that she'd teased him about for so long, but a grown man.

And she couldn't _help_ but see it. The dark blue pullover sweater he was wearing over a dark blue tee shirt fit him in a way that she liked. He was casual in jeans and boots, but the whole combination worked for him, making his dark hair darker and his eyes an incredible shade of blue.

They were mesmerizing.

"Lois, is that all right?" He raised his eyebrows at her in question as he stopped in front of her. "I can call room service and have them bring up dinner if you're ready. Or we can have some champagne if you're not hungry yet."

"Clark, you don't drink." Lois felt the need to point out the obvious.

"Well-" He murmured. "There's a first time for everything."

_Wasn't that the truth._

The question was, was it time for _their_ first time?

Lois put her hands on his chest and smiled up at him tentatively. "This is all very sweet Smallville and kind of romantic. But if you're going to be leaving every five minutes I'm going to be eating by myself."

He smiled back at her and his wasn't tentative at all. "Oliver is going to be taking care of patrol duties tonight."

"Ollie?" She hadn't expected to hear that.

"I went to the penthouse to talk to him." Clark nodded. "It's one of the reasons I was gone so long. I wanted to do something special for you because it's our last night here and because you've taken the news about me so well."

_He was so sweet._

"So how did you manage to pull it off?"

"I didn't Lois. You did and his date did." He told her. "She seems to have a good influence on him."

"She's not his usual choice for a date, that's for sure." Lois observed. "Ollie's been going after the body over brains types lately. You know. The one's who look good in a camera lens, but don't have much between the ears.

"He probably thought she was that type and didn't expect her to pull him into line the way she did. I think she could be really good for him, if he decides to give her a chance."

He laughed softly and reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Well, you've decided to give _me_ a chance, so I think anything's possible."

"True." She agreed. "So what was your little heart to heart about?"

"It wasn't so much that, as his apologizing." Clark got his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "From what he told me, his date really let him have it when they were driving home. She told him that he'd been thoughtless and rude and how we must have been so embarrassed to be singled out in a ballroom full of strangers.

"She told him that it probably didn't matter to him that he'd made such a scene, but it mattered to her because _she_ was embarrassed and didn't appreciate being put into the position he put her in."

"Wow. Sounds like Ollie might have finally met his match."

"I know the feeling." He laughed again and Lois liked seeing him happy. He'd been so unhappy for the longest time and it was nice to see a smile on his face. And it was even nicer to know that she was responsible for it.

"So do you think he's okay?"

He nodded. "I don't think we're going to have to worry about Oliver any more."

"That's good." She answered distractedly because it suddenly occurred to her that Clark had mentioned Oliver doing patrol duty. But as far as she knew, Clark didn't know that she was aware that Ollie was Green Arrow. "Clark?"

"Hmm?"

"You said that Ollie was going to be doing patrol duty tonight." She looked up into his face, waiting for the inevitable surprise, but it never came.

"He told me that you knew about Green Arrow and that you've known for the last couple of years." He revealed to her, his smile seeming to grow wider. "You've known about him all this time, and I never knew."

"That's because you weren't supposed to." Lois answered logically. "But the difference between you and Ollie is that he didn't tell me."

"The penthouse." He guessed and she nodded.

"It was a little hard not to come to that conclusion with all of his hardware in plain view." She sighed. "I just wish he'd trusted me enough to tell me."

"He was trying to protect you." Clark defended their friend.

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes. "But let me tell you something buddy, Lois Lane doesn't need protecting."

Her statement of fact got him to laugh out loud and Lois felt her face flush at the sound of it. "Lois."

"Most of the time." She amended. "I'm no damsel in distress Smallville and I don't know what it is about guys like you and Ollie who think I need protecting."

"It's because we don't want anything to happen to you." He leaned over and kissed her. "You mean too much to us."

"All that matters is how much I mean to _you_." She kissed him back and then pulled out of his arms. "So why don't you crack open that champagne and we'll get this evening started."

He did as she asked and Lois held the crystal flutes as he filling each glass. She teased him that there was no way he was going to be able to keep up with her and it was then he told her that alcohol didn't affect him.

_Really? _

Throughout the rest of the evening he was attentive and charming and talked to her so easily about everything but the _Planet_ and their assignment. He acted in a way that a groom would be with his bride and Lois was completely bowled over.

Maybe that was why she didn't give a second thought to letting him do it. They were already skirting territory that she wasn't entirely sure she was ready for, even though she'd been thinking about it.

Of course, if she hadn't been over the moon with the chocolate mousse she'd just sampled and moaned her satisfaction at the rich taste, he might not have.

But there she was, in unadulterated bliss. And when she offered him a taste from her spoon, his face was red as a beet and he shook his head. "It's only chocolate mousse Smallville. It won't kill you."

"But that's your spoon." His voice was low and nervous as he shook his head again.

Maybe he wasn't quite ready yet, either.

"I don't have cooties Clark." She held out the spoon to him. "Here, taste. It's really good."

"Lois." He protested.

"Oh please." She gave him a pointed look. "We share your coffee all the time, this isn't any different."

"Yes it is Lois." He held her gaze and she felt her own face warm. But he took the spoon she offered anyway and set it down on his dessert plate, his sudden nervousness seeming to give way to determination.

_What was he doing?_

"I don't want the spoon." Clark stood up and reached for her hand. He pulled her up from the table, drawing her against him and whispered just before he kissed her. "I'd rather have you."

_Maybe he _was_ ready._

Lois responded to his touch and threaded her hands into his hair, closing the meager distance between their bodies. It didn't seem as though Clark had expected it because he sighed and it sent goose bumps down her arms. It was almost as though he was saying, _'I've missed you.' _

His arms closed around her waist, bringing her even closer and without saying a word, Clark was letting her know where his thinking was going. He may not have planned what she had been contemplating, but it seemed the natural way to end such a romantic evening.

Because it had been.

The confident side of Clark Kent was something Lois was still becoming familiar with and hoped he would keep it up, because she really liked it. She liked his assertiveness, his stubbornness and his willingness to do what needed to be done to make her happy.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't do what needed to be done to make _him_ happy. Because he was the first guy she'd ever known that she would be willing to do that for.

So why not make the both of them happy and finish the evening off right?

Clark seemed to be thinking along the same lines because Lois felt one of his hands travel south to the low of her back while the other found it's way under her shirt and the feel of his skin against hers startled her enough that he tried to back away.

"Don't even think about it." She whispered against his lips and he gave her a nod of understanding before he closed the distance again.

Her arms curled around his neck, holding him close and she slowly deepened their kiss, coaxing him to reciprocate. He started, because she was sure she'd surprised him, but he didn't hesitate to answer and her whole body flushed.

The hand he had under her shirt continued to skim her heated skin and the softness of his hair in between her fingers was ramping up such a feeling inside that there seemed to be only one way to go.

Or was it only one _place_ to go?

There was only one way to find out.


	17. Personal Space Breach

Clark had gotten in over his head, of that he had no doubt; not that it was necessarily a bad thing.

He had an impatient Lois in his arms, kissing him insistently and propelling him toward the bedroom.

If he'd been able to string a coherent thought together, he would have told her that maybe they needed to slow things down. But if that were true, why had he deliberately set up what he knew was a romantic dinner with her?

The fact of the matter was, Clark had always been cautious; too cautious at times. But that caution had been borne out of fear and the one thing that Clark didn't feel with Lois was fear.

It had taken him such a long time to see that she made him fearless because he knew she would never push him into doing anything that went against his nature.

What she _did_ do, what she had always done was encourage him to take chances. To look beyond his small world that had been the farm and to see that there was a bigger world out there that he should take the time to explore.

Metropolis might not exactly have been exploring the world, but the _Daily Planet _reported on it and Clark felt privileged to be a small part.

But he had to admit that after she got him into the bedroom and his calves bumped up against the side of the mattress, the only thing Clark wanted to explore was Lois.

For her part, she was already tugging on the bottom of his sweater, pulling it up and trying to get it over his head. It took him more than a few seconds to realize it because all he knew was that she wouldn't settle down and let him kiss her the way he wanted to.

And when she suddenly broke away from their kiss, a kiss that had his knees shaking so badly, he saw a frustrated frown. "Would you let go of me for just five seconds?"

She was having a hard time catching her breath, as was he and all that managed to do was heat up his already overheated body. It also made him smile and he teased her. "I don't think so."

"If you don't, we're going to be standing here all night with our clothes on." She huffed.

"I don't think so." Clark repeated with a laugh as he stepped back and pulled the sweater over his head, dropping it to the foot of the bed. As soon as he was free of the material he caught her around her waist and kissed her again.

He could feel the strong beat of her heart pounding against his chest and it made his own pulse race in anticipation. He'd never loved anyone the way he loved Lois and the purely male urge he was experiencing to show her how much was nearly overwhelming.

It didn't help matters that she was tugging again, this time on his tee shirt and his innate sense of modesty was trying to kick in.

It wasn't as though he didn't want her to see him. Once already that week, he'd overridden that impulse and had been rewarded with a look of appreciation.

Thing _were_ moving fast, but he couldn't decide if they were moving too fast or not fast enough.

But the feel of her warm body pressed against his, her fingers brushing against his skin as she continued to tug on his shirt while her soft lips caressed his, helped him come to the pleasing revelation that things weren't moving nearly fast enough.

And he really wanted to do something about that.

So he brushed her hands down to her sides and reached up for the sweater she was wearing, slipping it off of her shoulders, He heard her breath of surprise as he pushed it down her arms and smiled into their kiss as it dropped to the floor.

He felt the gentle touch of her hands on his shoulders as he grasped the bottom of her shirt and she lifted her arms so he could pull it over her head and he dropped it on the bed, next to his sweater.

She allowed him that before her hands were on his chest and she pushed him down to a seated position on the bed, only to straddle him a moment later.

It was almost more than he could stand. A half naked Lois in his lap and the only things between his skin and hers was _his_ tee shirt and _her_ bra.

He knew how bold she could be, but she'd never been that way with him, not even when they'd both been infected with Red Kryptonite. She'd let him take the lead, for the most part and he had no doubt how that night would have turned out if the circumstances had been different.

"You think too much Smallville." She was impatient and breathless and her fingers had threaded their way into his hair, making his skin tingle.

_He loved it when she did that. _

"I'm using all of my best moves and you don't even seem to notice." She took his face in her hands and lifted his head so he would look into her eyes and they had a sparkle in them that he'd never seen before.

"Trust me Lois, I notice." His own voice came out as a low rumble and that made Lois's flushed face burn a bright red. When she smiled at him she rocked her body against his, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to resist her for much longer; not that he wanted to.

"You _are_ the sweetest boy I have ever known." She leaned close, just before she kissed him and with another gentle push had him flat on his back.

He remembered her saying that in a phone message she'd left for her cousin, after Chloe and Jimmy's engagement party, but Lois had chalked it up to alcohol poisoning. Clark had chalked it up to her defenses being down, but he couldn't have told her that because she would have only denied it.

She followed him down to the bed and stretched out on top of him, fine tuning his already sensitive body.

_How much more was a guy supposed to take?_

Not much, he realized when Lois's lips found a spot just under his ear that made him catch his breath and Clark decided that it was his turn to drive _her_ a little crazy. So he got his arms around her waist and rolled over, taking her with him and covered her body with his.

"Oh!" Her surprise was evident, but she laughed just the same and the sound of it sent a jolt of electricity down his spine because it was unlike any laugh he'd ever heard before.

It was a deep, throaty laugh that telegraphed to him the deep pleasure she was experiencing, that he was giving her, and to encourage him to keep doing what he was doing.

She tugged on his tee shirt again and he felt her warm breath in his ear. "We need to level the playing field."

"I kind of like having the advantage for once." He confessed with a smile and the look of pride at his assertiveness as she smiled back, silently urged him to close the distance and kiss her.

But before he was able to make contact, her hands were on his shoulders, stopping him. She was frowning and Clark wondered what could have distracted her. "What the hell?"

"What is it?" He asked because Lois was looking over his shoulder at something across the room and when she didn't answer, he tried to catch her eye. "Lois?"

She began to push on his shoulders and Clark tried to keep the feeling of disappointment from tightening his chest, but something was really bothering her.

"I don't believe it." She kept pushing and then turned her frown on him. "Would you get off me?"

The words shouldn't have hurt, but they did. He knew she didn't mean them the way they came out, but it still hurt. Lois seemed to realize how it must have sounded to him because she gripped his shoulders and leaned up to kiss him.

"We've got a problem." Her voice dropped to a whisper and he took her cue and whispered back.

"What is it?"

"We're being bugged." She looked over his shoulder again. "I don't know how I missed it."

_Bugged? _

"Are you sure?" He asked as Lois reached over for her shirt.

"Yeah." She sighed and the look on her face was full of regret. "I'm sorry Clark. This isn't exactly how I thought the evening was going to turn out."

"Me either, but it's okay." He reassured her as he brushed a lock of hair away from her face and hesitated a moment before continuing. "I think I know who did this."

"So do I." Lois nodded. "A damn good idea."

He gently rolled off of her and sat up. Lois followed as she sat up next to him and pulled her shirt on. This wasn't how he thought the evening was going to turn out either, but it had.

And now he needed to deal with it.

So while he did a slow visual sweep of the entire suite, Lois stood up and walked to the lamp shade. He stopped what he was doing when she got his attention and pointed to the bottom of the shade. She reached inside and when he walked over to see what it was she had in her hand, he shook his head.

_Unbelievable._

It was a small, round disc that had been placed in such a way that neither had seen it, until now. Lois looked at Clark and then walked to the bathroom, dropped it on the tile floor before crushing it under the heel of her shoe and huffed. "Red-headed rat."

"Lois." _She thought it was Tess_. Clark was sure he knew different as he resumed his sweep before he quietly told her . "I don't think it was her."

"Well who else would it be?" She wanted to know as she picked up the ruined listening device and then blushed as she rejoined him in the bedroom, her voice still low. "Just think about what she would have been hearing if I hadn't found it."

His own face flashed in embarrassment at the idea.

"So did you find anything else?"

Clark didn't know how to tell her that not only had he found more listening devices, he'd also found a couple of cameras. One in the bedroom and the other in the sitting room. That obviously meant that not only would they have been heard, they would have been seen, too.

And then he realized, they already had.

One of the cameras he'd found was tucked in a vase of fresh flowers on the dresser and had undoubtedly given someone a full view of the room. The other was in a second vase on the fireplace mantle in the sitting room.

He nodded to her that he had as he zeroed in on the camera on the dresser and with a short burst of his heat vision, disabled it. He then walked out to the sitting room, with Lois right behind him and disabled the second.

"Cameras?" She asked him softly and he nodded.

The second listening device he found on the bottom of an ornate clock, also on the mantle and he handed it to Lois before he walked back into the bedroom. He headed for the bathroom and retrieved the third from the bottom of the toilet tank.

He held it in his palm for a moment before he curled his fingers around it and tightened his grip. When he opened his hand, it was nothing but dust.

"Show off." Lois grinned at him as she dropped the last device on the floor and ground it under her heel, as she'd done with the first. Clark brushed the palms of his hands together over the sink and watched as the powdery remains of the bug floated down.

"And you're sure that's it?" She asked for confirmation and he nodded.

"We're all right."

"Then in that case, I've got to follow a lead." Lois turned and walked out of the bathroom, retrieving her sweater from the floor. She slipped her arms through the sleeves and left him standing in the bathroom as she disappeared into the sitting room. "Are you coming?"

He nodded to himself and followed. She was putting on her jacket when he walked out of the bedroom. "You go ahead."

"You're not afraid of her, are you?" Lois raised an eyebrow at him.

"Lois." He shook his head. "I've just got another lead I want to follow."

"What other lead?" The look she gave him told him that she knew he was keeping something from her and didn't like it.

"I'll fill you in when we get back." He promised. "So you go ahead and follow your lead."

"I'm going to be awhile since I have to drive, so I'll meet you back here." She gave him a cheeky grin.

"I'll make sure the fire is going." He said as he took a deep breath and put out the fire, plunging the room into a gloomy dim.

"I'm counting on it." And she was gone.

And after he pocketed the bugs and cameras, so was he.

~*~

He walked into Watchtower without a hello and strode over to the couch where Chloe was sitting with a coffee cup in her hands.

"I want the key card."

"Well hello to you too Clark." Chloe frowned at him and put the cup down on the coffee table. "And I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I don't know how you did it, but you got a key card for our room and when we were out you planted cameras and listening devices." He reached into his pocket and got his hand around the disabled surveillance bugs before he dropped them on the table in front of her.

Her face flushed momentarily and it was all he needed to know. "Give me the card, Chloe. I've had enough of you prying into my personal life."

"Clark, anything that I've ever done, I've done for you." Her voice was taking on an edge of defensiveness. "And it seems to me that you would remember that when you barge in here accusing me of spying on you and Lois."

"You put surveillance cameras and bugs in my house." He turned away for a moment, running a hand through his hair before he turned back around to face her. "And you wonder why I'm accusing you of bugging our room?"

"Clark." She shook her head but didn't deny it.

"How did you get up to our floor the first morning Lois and I were there?" He really wanted to believe she didn't do it, but was having a hard time. "The _Regent_ has security measures in place to make sure that only guests can get on the elevators. And with all the hacking skills that you have, it shouldn't have been a problem."

It troubled him when a smug smile slowly spread across Chloe's face and then she reached for her cup and took a sip. "What I did wasn't just hacking Clark, it was taking advantage of an opportunity."

"An opportunity that you created, I' m sure." He didn't like where this was going.

"With all of the activity in that lobby, it didn't take much to get the clerk away from the front desk."

"Chloe." Clark sighed because he suddenly had a very clear picture of what she had done, but he needed to hear it from her. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't that difficult." She looked at him like he was a clueless farm boy. "I found where they kept the blank key cards and all I had to do was call up your room information on the computer to program a new key."

"How could you do that without the hotel knowing that there were suddenly three keys for that room, when only two had been issued?"

"It was so simple that even _Lois_ could have done it." She commented dryly and Clark came to her defense.

"Don't say that." He stepped forward. "She doesn't deserve it. So what did you do?"

"I didn't have to do anything." She shrugged. "As far as that out of date computer is concerned, there _were_ only two keys issued for your room."

"Give me the key." He held his hand out as he requested it yet again. "I know you still have it. And if you made any duplicates, I want them too."

"Clark."

"Playing Big Brother with my life is bad enough, but I'm not going to let you do it with Lois's." Clark stood his ground. "She's a big part of my life now and it's going to stop."

"What are you saying?" The smug look of satisfaction slowly changed to one of worry and she put her cup down again. "Clark?"

He was tired of her stalling, so he started to scan the room.

"What are you doing?" She was in a panic and stood up.

"You know exactly what I'm doing and if there's something else you're hiding, you know I'm going to find it." He warned her.

"Here." He stopped scanning and turned his attention back to her. She had the key card in her hand and the look on her face told him how upset she was.

"Is this the only one?" He took it from her and pocketed it, annoyed that she would be upset with him.

"It's all I needed." She sat back down and picked up her cup, glancing up at him. "So it looks like my cousin has you wrapped around her little finger. Though from what _I_ saw, she was pretty much wrapped around _you_."

There was so much he wanted to say to that but didn't, because his budding relationship with Lois was no one's business but their own.

"Chloe, I've told Lois about me." He finally said and she blinked in shock. "She knows about the Blur, about Krypton and my abilities. I'm not going to keep any more secrets from her, so I'd keep that in mind if you try something like this again."

"You didn't tell her about Watchtower, did you?" Her voice pitched up in worry.

"No, but I think you should." He replied. "Because if she asks me anything about what you're doing, I'm not going to lie to her."

"Clark, she can't know about this." Chloe was starting to panic.

"Why not? She knows about me." He'd almost said that Lois also knew about Oliver, but it wasn't his place to tell her that.

"But she can't know that it's my job to look after Oliver and the Justice League."

"The time for secrets is over, don't you think?" He asked. "It's not fair to Lois to be kept in the dark about all of this. She has a right to know."

He didn't wait for her reply as he turned for the door and walked out of the room.

~*~

When he got back to the room, he found Lois curled up on the couch. He smelled fresh coffee and saw an insulated coffee pot resting on a tray on the coffee table. He also saw a small pitcher of cream, a selection of sugars and a mug. Lois was holding a second one in her hands as she stared into a newly laid fire. "It was Chloe, wasn't it?"

_How could she know?_

"Lois?"

"Tess insisted that she didn't know anything about any bugs and her faithful sidekick backed her up, though I did get her to admit that it had crossed her mind." She said. "Then on the way back here I remembered that Chloe showed up the morning after we checked in. She shouldn't have been able to get up here since she wasn't a guest and it didn't take too much brain power to figure out what she'd done."

Clark walked to the couch and sat down next to her. He couldn't lie to her, but didn't know how he was going to explain everything. So instead, he reached into his pocket and handed her the counterfeit key.

"She thinks she's protecting me."

"From what?"

"From people finding out my secret." He answered honestly. "She's been keeping it for so long that she's just gotten over protective."

"So that gives her the right to spy on you?" The disbelief on her face hurt him to see as she turned the key over in her hand. "Clark, does she think she needs to protect you from _me_?"

"It's not personal Lois." He tried to soothe her. "It's just the way she is."

"With her own cousin?" She tossed the key onto the table and then put the mug down with a 'thunk', coffee splashing over the rim and onto the table, and looked at him with a frown. "We've known each other since we were kids and she thinks she can't trust me?"

"I don't think it's that as much as-"

"Protecting you, I know." She sighed and then took his hand, cradling it in her lap. "But that's _my_ job now."

_Really?_

And then she eased the serious tone of the conversation and added with a smile. "But then you've _always_ needed protecting, even before I knew you were the Blur."

"Protection from what?" He smiled back, wondering what she was thinking.

"Where do I start?" She laughed softly and leaned over to kiss him before she started counting. "Tess Mercer, for one. And that chick who had you cornered in the elevator-"

Embarrassment warmed his face at the memory of that encounter with Maxima and he shook his head. "I've got the picture."

"Though you didn't seem to mind that too much, from what I remember." Lois teased him, but he knew how to counter that.

"And it was the first time that I ever saw _you_ jealous." He reminded her

"I was-" _not_. He knew she wanted to say it.

"I never thought I'd ever see it." Clark persisted. "Lois Lane, jealous because of _me_."

"Uh-huh." She looked at him knowingly. "And you were never, at any time that he and I were together, jealous of Oliver."

"How could I-" _be_, he wanted to say. But he knew deep down a part of him _had_ been, and it hadn't been the first time.

"Poor Smallville. Jealous of a guy he didn't want to be jealous of."

"Maybe." He conceded, only because he was unwilling to admit it. "But it ended up working out in our favor, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did." She put her head on his shoulder. "I wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow."

"Me either." Clark agreed.

As they sat in the quiet of the room, the only noise coming from the crackling wood in the fireplace, the idea came to him that they still had one night; and he knew how he wanted to spend it.

"Clark?" Lois' soft voice got his attention.

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind if we put this off, just a little while?" As was her habit, Lois seemed to read his mind and it made him smile.

"Put _what _off Lois?" He chuckled when a solid fist connected with his arm.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She glanced up and caught his eye. "I want it to be in a place that makes us both happy."

"Well, _this_ place makes me happy Lois, so why wait?" He raised his eyebrows in question and it earned him another punch.

"You know what I mean." She let out a frustrated sigh.

He did, but he wasn't about to let _her_ know that.

"I do?"

Lois sat up and frowned at him. "Am I going to have to spell it out for you?"

"If you wouldn't mind." He was being so bad, but he really liked it because Lois could take it.

"F-A-R-M?" She gave him a pointed look as she literally spelled it out and he gave her a puzzled look, only because he knew it would make her crazy.

"I don't get it."

As expected, his feigned ignorance made Lois roll her eyes at him. "You may have only graduated from Podunk High, but I _know_ you know how to spell farm."

And it was then that he decided to let her off the hook.

"If that's where you want to make love with me, then that's where we'll be." Until a week ago, he never would have thought he could put the words 'Lois' and 'making love' in the same sentence. It had always been beyond the realm of possibility.

"You don't mind?" She looked a little surprised.

"I don't mind." He squeezed her hand and tried to reassure her. And then it occurred to him that before it happened, there was something they were going to have to discuss. "But before we do, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

He took a deep breath and tried to figure out the simplest way to tell her because he was anticipating what she was going to say. "There's a possibility that I could hurt you."

"I don't understand."

The words wouldn't come.

"This has something to do with Lana, doesn't it?" She asked. "And that's why you can't say it."

He nodded.

"Clark." Lois put her hand on his cheek, urging him to look at her. "Just tell me."

He nodded again. "Every time we were together, except once, I didn't have my powers."

Her face blanched a little and he held her hand even tighter. "What was the one time?"

"She has powers now." He told her. "Lex had a suit designed to give him the powers that I have and it would have become a part of him."

"Like a second skin?" She speculated and Clark nodded.

"But with Lex no where to be found, Lana decided to use it on herself."

"So that one time, you both had powers." Lois slipped her hand out of his and he felt a chill spread across his chest as she stood up and walked to the fireplace. She picked up the poker and jabbed at the fire, making sparks fly up the flue. "And you're worried that because you have powers and I don't, that you could hurt me."

"Yes." He admitted with a nod as he got up and followed, stopping behind her. "And the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you."

"I know." She assured him. "It's just that, I can't help but think that she's had a part of you that I haven't and I never thought that would bother me."

Clark moved cautiously and put his hands on her shoulders, worried that they would tense; but they didn't. Instead, she leaned back against him and his arms slipped down around her waist to hold her close. "But you have my heart Lois, in a way she never did because you've accepted me in a way she never did."

"It hurt you when she left, didn't it?"

"It did." He acknowledged, but wanted her to know something more important. So he turned her around and made sure that she was looking at him. "But I died when you left."

It took a moment for the impact of what he was admitting to hit her, because her eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"Lois, I never really understood what it meant to need someone until I couldn't find you." He put his arms back around her waist and held her close against him. Her hands came up to rest on his chest and the feel of them warmed him. "I never really understood what it meant to love someone until I didn't have you in my life."

"Clark, I don't doubt that you love me." It was Lois' turn to calm him. "And for all of my talk about leaving the past in the past, maybe it was a good thing that this came up."

"Lois." Now he was getting scared.

"Let me finish." She kissed him softly. "Whether we want to admit it or not, we've had these two 'Ghosts of Relationships Past', haunting us and before we go any further down this path that we've started, we need to get rid of them."

_She was right._

"I know." He looked at her upturned face and wanted nothing more than to kiss her back; but it wasn't time for that yet. "I never thought it would bother me either, knowing that Oliver knew you in a way that I haven't yet."

"But when you finally _do_ know me Clark, when we finally know each other-' She amended. "it's going to be so much better because _we_ know each other better than we knew Lana or Oliver. We were friends for such a long time and even before I knew about the Blur. we accepted each other for who we are."

"A dorky farm boy?" He reminded her with a smile.

"I prefer hunky reporter." Her face turned a rosy red. "Because you are."

"And you're a pain in the neck." Clark couldn't resist even as his own face warmed at her compliment and Lois feigned an insulted look.

"Excuse me?"

"But you're _my_ pain in the neck." He brushed his nose against hers. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Just remember you said that the next time I'm out chasing a lead and find myself dangling off the side of a building."

"Lois." He sighed in exasperation because she was too amused for his liking.

"I love you too Smallville." Lois cut off his avenue for argument and kissed him, but that was all right with him.

He didn't feel like arguing anyway.


	18. Seal of Approval

"Son, you need to wake up." A familiar voice called to him from the doorway. "You've slept in long enough now."

_Dad? _

That was impossible.

"I know you and Lois had a late night, but she and your mother are already up. So, let's go; chop, chop."

Clark heard the sound of his father's footsteps retreating down the hall and then down the stairs.

_Chop, chop? _That's what Lois always said.

He struggled to open his eyes and when he finally did, he was in his bedroom, back in Smallville. He frowned in confusion because he knew without a doubt in his mind that he and Lois had gone to bed in the hotel suite the night before.

He blinked, several times to try and stay awake before he glanced over at the opposite side of the bed and it looked as though it had been slept in. He sat up and ran a hand through his sleep rumpled hair and caught a glance of a wedding ring on his finger; and it wasn't Dad's.

It was a simple gold band that weighed on his finger, but it wasn't an unfamiliar weight. It was simple and unadorned but shouted, 'Married.'

_Wait. _Did Dad say Mom and _Lois_ were up?

His confusion grew when a little girl, she couldn't have been more than five, peaked around the doorway. He recognized the blue eyes as his own, but the long, dark hair was all Lois.

His body started to shake because he could see her in the small face smiling shyly at him and he couldn't help but smile back as he instinctively opened his arms to the little girl; who ran into the room and jumped into his arms.

"Hi, Daddy." She kissed his cheek and hugged him.

That word sounded so strange to his ears because he never thought he'd ever hear it; and he became even more confused.

Dad was alive and he had a daughter?

_It just wasn't possible. _

"Hi, Pumpkin." He answered with a nickname he somehow knew was hers and hugged the small body to his. She curled her arms around his neck trustingly and his heart fluttered furiously in his chest.

He was holding his daughter, his own flesh and blood and he didn't even know her name.

"Shelby is making Mommy sneeze." She giggled in his ear and he laughed softly.

"Shelby _always_ makes her sneeze." He answered because that much he knew was true.

The child sat down cross legged in front of him and was sporting a pair of flannel pajamas that had pictures of ice cream sundaes and teddy bears all over them. They looked like something Lois would wear and it was easy to see which parent she took after.

"Mommy says if she sneezes again, the baby will come early." She giggled again and Clark felt his body flush, _Lois was pregnant_.

"Ellen Martha Kent, where are you?" Clark heard his mother's amused voice carry up the stairs.

_She'd been named for their mothers._

"Daddy's _finally_ awake." She unfolded her legs and clambered down from the bed. And in a move that looked so much like her mother, put her hands on her hips. "Mommy says he's a lazy bones."

"Mommy was being sarcastic." His mother answered as she appeared in the doorway and Clark smiled. It had been too long since he'd seen her.

"Sar-" She couldn't quite get her mouth around the word and Mom smiled at her.

"Sar-cas-tic." She repeated slowly to her granddaughter before she smiled at _him_. "It's one of the things your daddy loves about her."

"It's one of the things that drives me crazy." He tried to hide his smile. "And she knows it."

"And that's what makes you so perfect for each other." She reached for Ellen's hand. "Come on honey, let's let your dad get dressed. Grandpa's been waiting for him to wake up."

Dad was never going to have the chance to hear that and Clark sighed.

"Clark, are you all right?" Mom's concern got him to look at her and he forced a smile on his face. He still wasn't sure what was going on, but he never liked seeing his mother worry.

"I'm fine, Mom." He told her and he got the sense that she didn't quite believe him.

"I know the false labor has been hard on the both of you." Mom picked up Ellen in her arms. "And the trips to Smallville Medical are wearing her out, but it's only a few more weeks."

She was that far along?

He didn't know how to answer, so he just nodded.

"All right, my little monkey." She put her squirming granddaughter down. "Go back downstairs and finish your breakfast. Your grandpa Sam is going to be here later and you slept in almost as late as your daddy did, so scoot."

_Lois's father? _

She watched as Ellen walked down the hall and she turned to follow. "I'll be right back. I just want to make sure she gets down the stairs."

He nodded again.

"Don't look so worried, Clark. After that last bump on her head, she's learned that she needs to hang on to the railing."

He hadn't seen any bump.

Clark got up from the bed, ran a hand through his hair again and tried to push down an unfamiliar paternal panic. "I should walk her down."

Mom shook her head and walked toward the stairs, with Clark right behind her. "She wants to prove to you and Lois that she's a big girl. But after that robin's egg she got over her eye a couple of weeks ago, we decided to watch her without her knowing."

"How did that happen?" He wondered as they stepped down to the landing and watched as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "She's half Kryptonian."

"Well honey, her human side seems to bruise, or as Lois would say, her Lane side. But because of her Kryptonian side, she heals pretty quickly." Her smile began to fade and the look of worry that Clark didn't want to see appeared. "Clark, are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, Mom." He hugged her to try and reassure her, even though he felt anything _but_ fine. When he pulled back, he smiled at her again. "I'm going to take a shower."

She put a hand on his cheek, her look telling him that she was not entirely convinced. "If you were human, I'd insist you go to the doctor."

He got his mother by the shoulders and held her in a gentle grip. "I'm okay. I just had a really strange dream."

He couldn't tell her that he still was.

"You two really are perfect for each other." Mom smiled at him before she laughed. "Lois has been saying the same thing, but at least she has a reason."

He wanted to ask his mother if Lois was all right, but he was aware that it was something he would already know.

"Go take your shower and I'll let your dad know you're up." She patted his arm. "Don't take too long now."

"I won't." He promised as he watched his mother walk down the stairs before he turned around and headed back to his room. When Clark walked in, he couldn't help but notice that while it was still his room, a little redecorating had made it _their_ room.

A look inside the closet showed that it had been divided in half, with Lois' clothes taking up one half and his the other half. Well actually, hers were taking up more than half. His clothes included shirts, pants and ties, with his dress shoes on the closet floor. Was he still a reporter?

He got his answer when he saw his and Lois' press credentials on the dresser. It was the same credential he'd been wearing since the day he started at the _Planet_.

Clark wasn't even sure what day it was, but figured it must be Saturday or Sunday because there hadn't been anything said about his being late for work. He did know from the clock on his nightstand that it was almost nine.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in that late.

He got a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, socks and...Snoopy boxers? He couldn't help but grin because it was probably Lois who had bought them for him as a joke.

'_What's the worst thing that could happen? I'd see you in your Snoopy boxers?'_

It would be like her to do something like that.

He took the clothes into the bathroom and closed the door. He set them down on the bathroom counter and his heart skipped a beat when he saw a bottle of prenatal vitamins on the shelf over the sink.

The idea was still so new to him that in this universe he was currently in, he and Lois had a daughter. They had another child on the way, even though he couldn't picture her pregnant. But maybe that's what the whole point of this vivid dream was, to get a glimpse of a real future with her.

And then the thought came to him, was she having a similar experience? After all, they'd dreamed of each other before, so it made sense to him that she might be dreaming about this too.

If she were, would she tell him?

At this point, it didn't really matter because he intended on taking as much away from the dream as possible. He wanted to savor the moments he would have with Dad and have the experience if being a dad himself.

He'd never really considered before if he would be able to have kids because he thought it was his destiny to be alone. But if what was happening was a glimpse into what could be, it _was_ possible for him to be someone's dad and someone's husband.

_Not just _some_one's husband, Clark; but _Lois's_._

He got under the hard spray of the shower and let the warm water work on his tense muscles. It would be too easy to let himself forget that what was happening wasn't real and just take the opportunity to experience this temporary reality.

But at some point, he was going to wake up and didn't want it to be such a shock when he did.

"This is all your fault, you know." Lois' irritated voice shook him out of his musings and set his heart racing in double time. He hadn't heard the bathroom door open and wondered why in the heck his super hearing hadn't picked up the sound of her coming up the stairs. "I still have five weeks to go before this kid arrives and if he kicks me one more time, we're going to have to have a mother and son chat."

_A son? _

The ingrained habit of verbally sparing with her took hold and he didn't think about what he was about to say. "I did have a little help with that Lois, or did you conveniently forget?"

"You're a funny guy, Smallville. Of course I haven't forgotten."

But _he_ didn't have a clue what had happened between them and couldn't help but feel a deep disappointment about that. "Then maybe you can fill me in because I don't seem to remember."

Clark laughed at the absurdity of his statement because it was so true, but he felt it was something he would have said to her. Besides, it might keep her from getting suspicious that he wasn't exactly the man she'd married.

"Well you've given me a constant reminder." The shower curtain was pulled back and he couldn't help but be glad his eyes were closed. "Don't pull that Mr. Modest card on me, Clark." he felt her grab his arm. "We've been married for six years and you don't have anything I haven't seen before."

_She was right about that. _

So he gathered every ounce of courage he could scrape up and opened his eyes. He turned to look at the irate face of the woman he'd come to love and she'd never looked more beautiful, or _pregnant_.

His eyes shifted down to look at her expanded waistline and he reached out to touch the life she was carrying. And then, amazingly, he felt that life move under his hand.

"He always seems to know when it's you." He watched as her hand settled over his and saw the wedding ring on her finger. Her voice was breathy and when he looked up at her, her face was flushed. "Ellen did too."

"I can't believe we actually did this."

The baby moved again and Lois laughed softly. "You said that when we found out we were pregnant with _her_. You were so certain that Kryptonians and humans were incompatible. Even Jor-El had his doubts that we would be able to have kids, but we proved you and him wrong."

"I'm glad." He smiled at her.

"So am I, Smallville." She smiled back at him and her glanced skittered down and then back up to his face before the curtain was unceremoniously closed. "If I weren't so far along, I'd be in there with you."

"So what's stopping you?" He found himself asking as his face burned.

"We can't-" _make love_, he heard the unvoiced thought.

"I know." He answered her automatically because he really didn't. "But it's a nice thought."

And in a voice so quiet, he wasn't even sure he'd heard it, the curtain was opened again. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

She held out her hand to him and he reached out reflexively for it. "Lois?"

"Give a girl a hand, Clark." She sighed as she stepped into the shower, clothes and all and got her arms around his neck. "Since we can't be together the way I'd like, this'll have to do."

"Lois." He smiled because he couldn't help it.

"Close that, will you? I'd rather not give your parents or our daughter a free show." She lifted an eyebrow at him and he kissed her before he reached over for the curtain and pulled it closed.

He couldn't hold her the way he would have liked as they kissed, but the feel of their baby moving between them tempered the disappointment.

At least until he felt Lois' fingers weave their way into his hair and he sighed. And then his body answered the only way it knew how and he felt his face flush. _Great._

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Lois' breathy laugh against his ear made him growl with frustration, but the sound of it just made her laugh all the more.

"I could have told you that, if you'd bothered to ask." He groused and she pulled away enough to look into his face.

"Since when do I ask?"

"Since never." He had to admit.

"Exactly." She toyed with the ends of his wet hair and it was her turn to sigh. "Well, as much fun as this is, I need to get out. Because if I don't, your dad's going to come looking for the both of us. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather he not find us in here, together."

"I don't think he'd mind, Lois. We are married."

"But _I'd_ mind, Clark." She turned serious. "There are just certain situations that kids and parents don't want to find each other in. This is one of them."

"Then how about we go back to our room, I help you out of those wet clothes and no one needs to be embarrassed."

_Did he actually just say that?_

"You really want to make these last few weeks difficult don't you?" If she weren't smiling at him, Clark would have thought she was mad at him for making the suggestion. "Besides, your dad's been wanting to talk to you all morning."

"Did he say what it was about?"

Lois shook her head. "Mom says he's been tight lipped about it and won't even tell _her_. And you know Dad, he doesn't keep anything from her."

_She called them Mom and Dad. _

"As much as I've really enjoyed this, you really need to let me go so I can change." She brushed her cheek against his. "And thank you for making me feel so beautiful."

"That's because you are." He told her honestly. "What you're going through for us, again, is the most amazing thing anyone's ever done for me."

"What can I say." She grinned at him. "Love makes you do things you wouldn't ordinarily do."

"I just feel so lucky that you love me enough to do this. Especially knowing that the baby you're carrying isn't fully human."

"Clark, that never crossed my mind." She brushed his hair back. "All I know is our little girl and this one I'm carrying are _ours_, so I don't think of them as being half human and half Kryptonian."

"I love you." He hugged her to him. "I really love you."

"I love you too, Smallville. But I think I'd love being in dry clothes even more." She gave him one of her rare giggles and he smiled.

"I guess that means I have to let you go then."

He felt her nod. "That's usually how it works."

"Okay." He agreed, reluctantly and Lois brought her hands down to his chest.

"How about we pick this up in about three months and we can see things through to their natural conclusion?" She offered and he nodded.

"It's a date." Clark agreed, even though he was fairly certain he would be awake long before then.

"It's a date." She wasn't moving and he got the feeling that she really didn't want to leave.

"Honey, if you don't get out of here and get dried off, you and the baby are going to get a cold."

"Great, that's all I need." She rolled her eyes. "A baby who not only kicks me, but who'll start sneezing."

He kissed her and then opened the curtain. He gave her his hand and held it tight as she stepped out of the tub. "If the baby starts kicking you again, just come get me."

"Count on it. Now close that so I can get out of these clothes." She told him. "I don't want to drip all over your mother's freshly washed floors going back to our room."

"I don't mind watching." He laughed at her incredulous look.

"But _I_ do, so close it." She didn't budge, so he closed it. He heard her laugh and he had a pretty good idea why. "I can't believe you actually wear these. I only meant them as a joke."

"True. But they make you laugh, so that's why I wear them."

"You're so sweet."

"So are you."

"Pfft." She countered. "But _Ellen_ is and that's all that matters. I just hope this little one gets your temperament too."

"Well what if I want him to be like you?" He asked her.

"You really want another version of the General running around? Because that's what we'd be getting. Ooh!"

"Lois, are you all right?" The sense of panic he'd felt earlier with Ellen washed over him.

"Your son just kicked me." She started to laugh. "See, he doesn't like the idea of being like his mother either."

"Are we sure it's a boy?" It didn't matter to him, not really whether it was a boy or another girl. He just wondered if it was wishful thinking on her part.

"You were there, Smallville. We got unimpeachable evidence that I'm carrying a boy."

He was about to ask how they would know and then realized, an ultrasound. "Oh."

"You sound disappointed." She remarked and then her voice came close to the curtain as her wet clothes were slung over the shower rod. "We don't need another daddy's girl running around here, Ellen is enough."

"I'm not disappointed, Lois. I just want to be as good a dad for our son as my dad was for me." He shrugged. "That's a pretty tall order to live up to."

"You've been a wonderful father to our daughter, Clark and you'll be just as wonderful for our son." She reached in and grabbed his arm. "You sound just like you did before Ellen was born and you shouldn't because everything was fine. So I'll tell you the same thing I told you then, just trust yourself and trust the way _you_ were raised." She squeezed his arm and then she was gone.

~*~

By the time he got downstairs, it was quiet.

Too quiet.

He could smell a fresh pot of coffee brewing and as he walked into the kitchen, wondered where everyone had disappeared to when he heard the front door open.

"Good morning, son." _Stay calm Clark, _he had to remind himself. "Your mother made fresh coffee if you want some."

He nodded because he could feel his eyes start to flood with tears and Dad couldn't see him like that. So he blinked to clear his eyes and when he felt steady enough to turn around he did, and it nearly did him in.

_Dad._

Looking as healthy and robust as he remembered.

_Dad._

"You look tired." he grinned and Clark's heart fluttered with happiness. His father was right there in front of him. "I think this baby is going to keep you on your toes as much as Ellen did."

"That's the feeling I'm getting."

"Well just remember that your mother and I are here to help you both. My granddaughter may not have super speed, but Lois is having a lot of trouble keeping up with her these days."

He couldn't do it anymore and he felt the tears he'd tried to hold back leak out of the corners of his eyes as he nodded. And then he got exactly what he needed, a hug from his dad. A strong bear hug that had always told him everything would be all right.

"Everything is fine, Clark." Dad held on to him, rightly sensing that he needed him. "Lois and the baby are healthy and everything is on schedule. And since we're not dealing with the unknown this time, I know how much easier it's been for Lois and for you. And if you have any doubts about how it might go, just take a look at your daughter."

"I know." He held on to his father for dear life, knowing that he was going to have to let him go. And he didn't want to.

A gentle clapping on his back told Clark that he had to let Dad go.

_You're supposed to be a husband and a father, remember?_

He took a swipe at his damp eyes and his father grinned as he grasped his shoulders. "Come on. Your mother's coffee should be ready and you look like you can use a cup." He let go and walked into the kitchen.

"I can always use a cup of Mom's coffee." He replied.

"Only because Lois's is undrinkable." Dad laughed softly. "But don't ever tell her I said that."

"I won't." _He'd never have the chance. _"But something tells me that she'd probably agree with you." He sat down at the island and his father put a cup of coffee down in front of him. "It was kind of quiet when I got down here."

"Martha and Lois took Ellen into town." He told Clark. "You know how important it is to Lois that your daughter be a normal child as long as she can since we don't exactly know what kind of abilities she's going to have."

"I know." He nodded and took a sip of coffee as Dad sat down across from him. "Mom and Lois said you've been waiting for me to get up."

"I have." He took a sip from his own cup. "I haven't had the chance before now to say thank you for taking care of this place while I was in Topeka. You didn't have to take over the running of the farm while I was in the Senate, but you did. I know it was rough on you while your mother and I were traveling back and forth, but we appreciated how you put your plans on hold for college to help out."

"I'd do it again Dad, you know that."

If it meant that his father would have actually lived to go to the Kansas State Senate, he would have in a heartbeat.

"I know, son." He nodded. "I just wish that it hadn't permanently derailed your chance to go to college. But the fact that Lois talked you into taking the internship at the _Planet _and that it worked into the two of you being a couple of the best reporters that paper has, well I can't really feel too bad."

_He would still have gone to work at the Planet._

"And the fact that working with her got you to finally see someone who'd been right in front of you since she came to Smallville, well, I can't feel too bad about that either." He grinned. "It makes me happy to see how happy she makes you Clark. Your mother and I worried for a long time that you wouldn't find the kind of happiness _we_ had."

"You've always liked Lois, haven't you?"

"_Almost_ always." He chuckled. "Until we got to know her, your mother and I didn't exactly know what to make of her. But after the second meteor shower destroyed the house, we found out what a remarkable young woman she was and still is, by the way." He seemed to feel the need to amend. "She shook up your life son, when it really needed to be shaken up. And she's always been there for you whether you realize it or not."

He was embarrassed to admit that he hadn't always, but hopefully was now making that up to her.

"I didn't always." He told his father honestly.

"True. But having her disappear for those three weeks changed all that, didn't it?"

Clark nodded. "It did."

"That's the important thing then, that you know how much she means to you. And how much she means to your mother and me."

"I've never known another woman like her, Dad."

"And that's what makes her so special, so always remember that." He finished his coffee and stood up, taking his cup to the sink and rinsing it out before setting it down and turning around. "But I think it's fair to say that she's never met a man like you either. And I'm not talking about your abilities."

"I know." He smiled. "We drove each other crazy in the beginning and I wonder sometimes how we ended up where we did."

"It's simple. Your hearts knew what you wanted before your heads did. It just took awhile for the two of you to stop being so stubborn and realize that you couldn't live without each other."

"Like you and Mom."

"Like your mother and me." He nodded and walked toward the back door. "Well, before our favorite girls come back, I'm headed out to the barn. Your mother left you a plate in the oven, so don't let it go to waste."

"I won't." Clark watched his father go and he got a ringing in his ears that sounded suspiciously like Lois. _He was waking up. _"Dad?"

He stopped and turned around with an expectant look on his face.

"I love you."

Dad smiled at him and nodded. "I love you too, son. Take care of our girls."

And he was gone.

'_Smallville, wake up. Smallville?'_

Everything went black.


	19. Fathers' Day

The first thing Lois noticed when she woke that morning was that she was alone.

She had no doubt that her farm boy had already been up for hours and done a tour or two around Metropolis, taking care of his Blur duties while she slept.

The second thing she noticed that when she stretched, she had some pain in her midsection and had no idea why.

She got an unexpected surprise, though, when she opened her eyes and then promptly closed them again. They had to be playing tricks on her because she knew that she was at the _Regent Hotel _with Clark, not at the farm in Smallville.

They'd gone to sleep the night before and she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

They were going to have to talk about that, about what they were going to do about the situation between them.

She opened her eyes again, slowly this time but the scenery hadn't changed. She was in Clark's room and while the look of it was familiar, some things had changed.

And from the looks of the bed, she hadn't slept in it alone.

She frowned in confusion because nothing was making sense. What was making even less sense was the plain gold band on her finger because it wasn't the ring she'd gone to sleep wearing.

It was her body though, that _really_ didn't make sense. She felt heavier than she normally did and she didn't feel in the same shape as she usually did.

She'd obviously been through something pretty major because not only did Lois feel sluggish, she felt a kind of tired she'd never felt before.

It was weird.

She started to close her eyes again when she spotted a little girl standing in the doorway of the bedroom. She looked to be about five, and Lois's heart flipped over. She was a miniature of herself in her looks, but the eyes that looked back at her were definitely Clark's.

No one had eyes as blue as he did.

The flannel pajamas she wore were something Lois herself would have worn and she couldn't help but smile. Bunny rabbits and French toast?

The child seemed to take that as an invitation to come into the room and she walked to the edge of the bed as Lois rolled to her side to get a better look.

"Gramma says I have to let you sleep." She whispered and Lois laughed. She reached out to touch the soft hair and marveled at how fine it was between her fingers. "She says Sam took a long time to get here."

_Sam? _Was she talking about Dad?

"Daddy says you worked hard and you're really tired." She added.

"Where _is_ Daddy?" Lois started trembling because something was happening to her that she didn't understand.

"Downstairs with Gramma and Grampa." She said. "Daddy didn't want Sam to wake you up."

'_Lois, think._

'_You're on the farm with Clark and Mrs. Kent and Dad. Everything looks the same but it feels different, you feel different. And there is this cute little girl standing next to the bed, who looks like you and Clark._

'_It's time to get up and start investigating the Smallville Triangle.'_

She sat up, but as it turned out, it was too quickly because her stomach cramped. _Crap!_

She grimaced and the girl's eyes widened. "Mommy?"

That was a word Lois never thought she'd ever hear. "I'm fine, Pumpkin." She tried to reassure the child with a nickname that sounded oddly familiar. "I just sat up too fast."

She threw the covers back and slowly got her legs over the side of the mattress and planted her feet on the floor. She reached for her bathrobe and then shoved her feet in a pair of slippers that had seen better days, but she'd never tossed them out because they were so comfortable.

Lois took her time standing and the aches traveled up and down her legs and her back as she tried to get her bearings.

And then she realized something unbelievable.

_She'd been pregnant._

Lois had been given a story to do not long after she'd started at the _Planet_, about working women who were pregnant and how it impacted their lives as they climbed the career ladder.

She'd talked to one of the new mothers a couple of weeks after she'd had her baby and proceeded to show Lois what a woman's body looked like after she'd given birth.

She walked a little gingerly to the mirror, which stood in the corner of the room and then surreptitiously lifted the tee shirt she was wearing, afraid of what she was going to see.

Lois was shocked to see how soft her body looked and how out of shape she was. The fact of the matter was, she looked like a marshmallow.

She also felt a little faint and bent slightly to put her hands on her knees to try and get the buzzing in her head to stop.

"I'm getting Daddy." The girl turned and ran out of the room.

Her quick movement made Lois panic and for reasons she couldn't really explain, she followed the child as quickly as she could, which wasn't that quick really, to the stairs that went down to the kitchen.

Lois watched as she held onto the handrail and then step by step, stair by stair, she reached the kitchen.

As she stood at the head of the stairs, Lois heard Clark, his mother and the little girl. But she also heard a voice she hadn't heard for years and it wasn't her father, _it was Clark's_.

Mr. Kent?

'_Okay, Lois; you've suffered one concussion too many and now you're hallucinating.'_

It was the only way to explain what was happening to her.

But whatever it was, Sam Lane hadn't raised a coward and Lois tied the belt of her bathrobe before she took the first step that would put her in the kitchen.

And it was a sight she wasn't ready for.

"Ellen Martha Kent, did you wake up your mother?" Mrs. Kent watched Lois come down the stairs and scolded, but in true Martha Kent style, she had a smile on her face.

So she'd been named for her mother and Clark's.

"She was already awake." Ellen told her grandmother as she was escorted to the dining room. "I want to see Mommy."

"Your mother isn't going anywhere, honey." The tone of her voice soothed and Lois watched as Mrs. Kent sat her down with a bowl of cereal and a small glass of orange juice. "But you need to finish your breakfast so your grandpa's and I can take you to the fair."

"That means I've got chores to finish before Sam gets here." The familiar baritone of Mr. Kent's voice was something she hadn't realized she missed so much and Lois felt a deep sadness she hadn't felt in a long time. "So you need to take him now, Clark."

The sound of Clark's laugh made her smile. "I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get him back."

"Don't be smart, son." Another Kent was being scolded with humor. "You may be a father now, but I'm still _yours_."

"Yes, sir." Lois heard his amused reply before she also heard the front door open and close.

She walked to the island and pulled out a stool to sit down.

"Look who's up, Sam." Clark looked at the baby and then up at her and Lois' knees nearly gave out. She must have lost some color in her face because he put on a mini burst of super speed and had his hand on her elbow. "Honey, you really should be in bed."

It was hard for her to look at the man standing next to her and realize that he was her Smallville. He looked a few years older and had the contended air of someone who had everything he'd ever wanted.

"And I want to be down here." She looked at him and couldn't get over how handsome he was, or how right it looked to see him holding a newborn; _their_ newborn. Samuel Jonathan Kent.

_How could she know that?_

Lois didn't know a lot about babies. But she knew that the baby Clark was holding couldn't have been much more than two weeks old, if that.

"Well then, how about if you let me walk you to the couch and you can spend some time with your son? He gets a little cranky when you're not around."

"He's a newborn, Clark. He doesn't know me from your mother." She gave him a pointed look.

"You're the one who feeds him, so I can guarantee that he knows the difference." He grinned at her and she felt her face flush. "And I think that's _why_ he's been fussy."

Lois didn't like where this was going and she wasn't too sure how she felt about the look in his eyes. He'd never looked at her quite that way before. The way a man looks who was deeply in love with his wife.

"And as I recall, you made a promise to Lois that she wouldn't have to take all the feedings." Mrs. Kent commented as she walked back in from the dining room. "They take more out of her because she breast feeds,"

Seriously?

Lois turned at the sound of her voice and wanted to say 'Thank you', but she didn't because she knew Clark's mother wouldn't understand.

She took a bottle out of what looked to be a bottle warmer and held it for a moment. "It feels about right, so why don't you take Lois and Sam out to the living room so she can sit down." There was a look of concern on her face. "Lois, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She tried to reassure the woman who, in this incarnation was her mother in law, but Lois had no idea what exactly to call her. She knew that it wasn't Mrs. Kent, so that left Martha or Mom.

"I just had a really strange dream." She couldn't exactly say that she still was.

"Hmm." She still looked concerned. "I was hoping those would stop once you had the baby. When's your next check up?"

'_I have no idea.'_

"We have an appointment at Smallville Medical tomorrow morning." Clark thankfully supplied the answer. "Once Sam gets his two-week check up, Lois is going to get one too."

"At your insistence." Lois was only guessing, but she guessed right.

"At my insistence." He nodded and the look of concern that crossed his face mirrored his mother's. "You may think you're indestructible, Lois but you're not. This little guy gave us some trouble and you need to take it easy."

'_What kind of trouble?' _She wanted to ask but couldn't since it was something she would already know. But it would probably explain why she was so sore.

She'd had a difficult labor.

Clark kept hold of her elbow as he walked with her and the baby to the couch and he helped her to sit down.

"I always thought that _first_ deliveries where supposed to be like that. But Ellen seemed to come in record time."

"And in the middle of the night, too." Clark added. "We couldn't get to the hospital before she decided to come."

She was born at the house?

"It's not often that children are born at home anymore, but it's where she wanted to be." Mrs. Kent smiled. "Lucky for us, this one decided to wait to be born in a hospital."

One was born at home, the other in the hospital. _Check._

Once she got comfortable she reached up, as though she knew exactly what she was doing. Clark smiled at her before he put the baby in her arms.

"I told you once that the Kent men were irresistible and you didn't believe me." He seemed pretty proud of himself as he sat down next to her. "And the way you're holding our son, I think I was right."

"I wouldn't get used to that if I were you." She responded automatically, but was distracted by the small, warm bundle in her arms. Lois had never held a baby in her life and she thought it would have felt really awkward. What had she told Clark once, that she wasn't really good with kids?

Maybe she hadn't been any good with kids because they weren't hers and Clark's; maybe that was the big difference. All she knew was that the baby boy she was holding was a picture of his father with his dark hair and blue eyes. And if she were lucky, he would have his temperament, too.

She'd gotten a hold of a tiny hand and was running a gentle finger against the downy softness of his skin when he turned his head and pulled his little fingers out of her grasp only to grab for her tee shirt and open his mouth.

He wanted to be fed.

"Give this to him." Lois heard Mrs. Kent's soft voice before Clark then pressed a bottle in her hand.

"Formula?" She looked at him and he smiled at her as he shook his head. "I thought-"

"It's all you, Lois." He kissed her cheek. "He won't take anything else."

_Oh._

"Come on; let's get comfortable." Clark got up from the couch for a moment and when Lois looked up at him, he was still smiling. "Scoot over for a second,"

She did as he asked, as best she could with a baby and a bottle in her hands and he sat back down. He pushed his back against the arm of the couch and then put his feet up on the cushions. She got the gist of what he was doing and found herself tucked against his body, giving her support.

_She liked that._

Sam grabbed for her shirt again and from the look on his tiny face, he was about to cry. So Lois touched his lips with the nipple of the bottle and when his mouth opened, he pulled it inside.

_Whoa_.

His little face relaxed and he began to eat.

"Look at what we did." She whispered in awe at the small baby who was contentedly sucking away.

"Half the fun was the trying." He whispered back and Lois elbowed him as her face burned. That only made him laugh and she found that she couldn't help but smile herself. "I was never really sure if we'd be able to have kids because of our differences, but you proved me wrong. I'll always be grateful for that."

"Me too, Smallville." She leaned back against him and caught his eye.

'_Please kiss me.' _She asked silently.

'_I thought you'd never ask.'_ His smile was his answer before she closed her eyes and his lips were on hers. It was the one familiar thing in this crazy dream she was having. But as his warm mouth coaxed hers to open for him and she willingly complied, she realized even _that_ was different. But in a very good way.

There was no hesitation, no shyness in wondering if she was okay with it. He was kissing her as a man who'd been married to a woman for a few years would kiss his wife. Full of love, passion and- want. He didn't have to say it because his kiss was telling her that.

He wanted her and his body was telling her that in no uncertain terms. His hands were telling her that as one of them found her thigh and began to caress her skin.

Her insides were melting because she wanted him too and in the very worst way.

"We can't." His frustrated voice was low in her ear and he sighed. "Not yet."

'_Are you serious?' _Lois was left reeling from his incendiary kiss and trying to catch her breath while she checked on Sam who had fallen asleep with the nipple still in his mouth.

"Here." His warm breath was still close and pulled the bottle out of her hand. "Let me take that."

Clark leaned toward the coffee table and set it down.

"What do you mean we can't?" He'd dangled the carrot of making love in front of her, which she would have done without hesitation, only to snatch it away.

"I'm sorry, honey." He whispered and brushed his lips against her ear. "I wasn't trying to start anything, I just miss you. I miss making love with you."

All she could do was nod.

"I know the doctor said that we should wait at least four more weeks so he can make sure that you're fully recovered." His chin went down on her shoulder. "And I know we can if we really wanted to, but I don't want it to be uncomfortable for you."

It surprised her that he was talking so openly about their sex life.

"But that doesn't mean that we can't spend part of the day together, just the two of us." He kissed her cheek. "That's why my parents and your dad are going to take the kids to the fair. Mom will look after Sam and our dad's will let Ellen drag them all over the fairgrounds."

Their dad's? Was the General in Smallville for a visit?

"Clark, isn't he a little-" What was the word she was looking for? "new, to be going to the Lowell County Fair?"

"I thought you were okay with this." He frowned with concern. "You know they won't be there the whole day, just an hour or two. And then they're going to your dad's for awhile." And then he smiled again. "Which means, the only two people we have to worry about are _us_."

She gathered that they hadn't been just _'us'_ for quite awhile.

"I _am_ okay with this." She tried to sound convincing, but wasn't sure if he believed her.

"Liar." He kissed her cheek. "You just don't want to admit that you can't stand the idea of not having our kids around for a few hours."

"As long as you're not going anywhere, I think I can live with it." She pressed her lips to his and was sorely tempted to deepen it, but reluctantly decided against it.

"I thought you'd see it that way." He glanced down at her lips and then into her eyes. "Come on. We need to get Ellen upstairs and dressed before your dad gets here."

"And after we get everyone out of here and I have some breakfast, I'm going to take a shower." She informed him and put her head back on his shoulder. "Of course, if you find yourself in the vicinity of the bathroom, you're welcome to come in."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" He sat so still and Lois wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"There's only one way to find out now, isn't there?"

The question was, would he take her up on it?

~*~

Lois thought about the situation that she'd put herself in and wondered if she was going to end up showering alone. The idea wouldn't even have occurred to her except that she'd remembered her teasing invitation to Clark the other night when he revealed to her that he was the Blur.

He'd promised her that it would happen, but until that time, why not indulge in a little fantasy?

Because as real as this all seemed, it _was_ still a fantasy.

All _this_ Clark knew was that his wife wanted him and he would do what he could to accommodate her.

She picked up a bar of soap from the soap dish and began to roll the bar in her hands to make lather. She started badly when a hand reached over her shoulder. The soap was taken out of her hands and a familiar voice rumbled near her ear. "Let me help you with that."

He actually did it.

'_Of course he did it, Lois. You're married_ _and you have the whole house to yourselves.' _

How Lois hadn't heard the sound of the bathroom door opening or closing, or the shower curtain for that matter was beyond her. But there he was, six and half feet of naked husband behind her. Naked being the operative word. And if Lois had never been sure if you could blush while being in a shower, she now knew it was possible.

"I know it's been awhile since we've done this." He must have seen her tense. "I just thought-" _you wanted me in here_. Came the unvoiced thought.

"Don't think Smallville." Lois found her voice and it was surprisingly steady, even as her body started to shake, terribly as she reaffirmed her invitation. "Just make sure you don't miss a spot on my back."

"I'll be very thorough." He promised as he dropped a lingering kiss on the spot between her shoulder and her neck and skimmed up to a spot just under her ear. "I promise."

He reached over again and put the soap back before he put his hands on her shoulders and began to run his hands across her shoulders and down her back.

Lois' eyes closed at the slightly erotic sensations he was creating with his bare skin on hers, the feel of his fingers as they moved slowly across her back and then traced her backbone all the way down to her backside. They made a sharp u-turn to travel up her sides and skim the sides of her full breasts before he cupped them in his hands and his thumbs rubbed the sensitive peaks.

She had to swallow her gasp of surprise at how wonderful it all felt because she didn't want him to think he was hurting her or that she was uncomfortable in any way. She felt the familiar rush of sensation that traveled southward and her head dropped back to his shoulder.

Her knees were starting to shake and Lois wasn't sure how much longer she could stand on her own. Especially when his hands left her breasts and started to travel down her soft midsection and she knew exactly where he was headed.

"If you do that, we're going someplace you're not willing to go yet." Her breathless voice reminded him. "And as much as I want this, I'd rather our first time not be uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry." His hands stilled and he apologized.

"Don't be." She shook her head, putting her hands over his. "It just amazes me that you want me, even looking the way I do."

Frumpy and unattractive, with unshed baby weight.

He turned her around, holding her by her shoulders. He took his time gazing at her body and his obvious appreciation for what he was looking at made her head swim. "What do you mean, how you look?" His eyes caught hers and he wouldn't let her look away. "You're beautiful, Lois. And your body is beautiful because it carried our son for nine months, just like it carried our daughter.

"I know you're not used to being in the shape you are. But when you're ready you'll be out with Sam in his jogger the same way you were with Ellen. Then you'll start exercising and get back into the shape you'd rather be in." He kissed her and put his hand on her abdomen and brushed soft circles on her skin. "But at the risk of sounding like a guy, I like being able to look at you and see the woman who just had our baby."

She put her hands on his chest and felt the tears coming. "How can you say that, I'm _not_ beautiful."

He hugged her to him and she could feel his rapid heartbeat under her hand. "You _are_, but you don't think so because you look in a mirror. I'm looking at you with my heart and that's what it's showing me."

"You are so sweet for saying that."

"I'm not just saying it, honey. I mean it." The sincerity of his words got her to look up and he was smiling. "And if you give me a chance, I'll prove it."

"Without going over the line."

His smile turned to a grin and _she_ smiled when his face flushed. "Here's the deal. Underwear stays on, hands have certain places that they can't go and we both know where those certain places are. Everything else is negotiable."

"Deal." She agreed and he kissed her again.

"Okay." He seemed a little surprised that she agreed so easily. "So you stay in here while I'll get dressed and then I'll meet you in the bedroom."

"Or I could just come with you." She teased him and Lois had to admit that it pleased her to still see something of the Clark she knew when his face flushed even more.

"Which would defeat the whole purpose." Clark kissed her yet again; he couldn't seem to get enough of that, of her. "So you stay put until I get out of here, okay?"

"If I have to." She feigned a pout.

"I'll make it worth the wait." He promised. "You always say I do."

"I thought we said that when we got married."

_It was too easy to say that. _

"We did and I do." He hesitated a moment before he turned around and stepped out of the shower, closing the curtain behind him. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat, too."

He didn't say anything else and while she was washing her hair, she heard the door open and the close again.

It didn't take her long to finish. In fact Lois' legendary marathon shower was cut by two thirds and she was out in fifteen minutes, a new Lane, a new _Kent_ record. She toweled her hair dry as best she could and after putting on her underwear and Clark's gray tee shirt, she left the bathroom and walked down the hall to their bedroom.

What greeted her when she stopped at the threshold made her burst out laughing because he looked a little ridiculous in his boxers.

'_What's the worst thing that could happen, I'd see you in your Snoopy boxers?'_

"And that's why I wear them." He turned to face her in nothing but those and a tee shirt. "I know you only meant them as a joke, but you laugh every time I wear them and I like it when you laugh."

"I like it when you make me laugh, Smallville." She stepped into the room and it was obvious that he'd tried to set a mood for romance. The bed was turned down and he'd lit a few candles around the room. The shades were drawn against the afternoon sun and it gave the room a smoky look.

He walked to the door and closed it. "Just in case they decide to come home early."

"You've thought of everything." She reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"My mission will be complete when I can figure out a way to get my wife into our bed."

_Hold it._

"Clark?"

"Keep your hand off the panic button, Lois." He grinned. "I have every intention of honoring our deal. Just because we aren't going to make love yet, doesn't mean we can't be comfortable while we're having fun with the preliminaries."

'_We can just skip the preliminaries.'_

'_But I like the preliminaries, Lois.'_

They'd had that exchange on their wedding night. But how could she remember something that hadn't happened?

_Wishful thinking?_

"Fine. But since this was your idea, I think it's only fair that _you_ start them."

"I think I can do that." He pressed his lips to hers. "I have had some experience with it."

"Show me." She dared him. But before he had the opportunity, Lois heard voices downstairs, one of them being their daughter.

"Or not." Clark sighed and then shook his head with a smile. "Maybe when they're eighteen and on their way to college we'll find some time together."

She put her arms around his neck and hugged him. "That won't work because I foresee at least one more baby Kent to keep us busy."

_Would that be something she'd actually want?_

"Really?" He pulled away and looked at her expectantly. "I thought we were going to stick with two."

"If our little guy turns out to be anything like his dad, I might have to reconsider that decision." She smiled at him. "But only if he's like you. I'm getting the feeling our first born is going to be more like me."

"And what's wrong with that." He laughed. "I happen to love her mother for having the very same qualities our daughter may have inherited."

"Tell that to the General." She kissed him. "He'll fill you in on how it feels to raise a stubborn, headstrong, opinionated daughter."

"He did." Clark laughed again. "But I wanted to marry you anyway."

"Okay. Just don't say I never warned you." She stepped back and couldn't help but feel a deep disappointment.

"Me, too." He grasped her hand, understanding what her sigh meant because he felt it as much as she did.

A soft knock on the door made her jump. "I'm sorry about this kids, but I had to bring Ellen home."

"Is she all right?" Clark grabbed for his jeans and pulled them on.

"She's fine son, just got sick on her first cotton candy." Lois heard a chuckle. "Sounds like a certain five-year-old boy _I_ know."

"Aww, Clarkie got sick on cotton candy?" She teased, knowing he could take it and in the meantime getting _her_ jeans on. She went to the dresser and pulled out a clean bra.

"And that's why Clarkie doesn't have a sweet tooth." He sat down on the bed and pulled his socks on, but then looked up at her with a smile on his face that made her heart melt. "Except with you."

"Go check on your daughter, I have to finish getting decent before I can face your dad."

"I kind of like the way you look right now." He stood up and got his arm around her waist. "I'll be down in a minute, Dad."

"There's no rush. I gave her some Alka-Seltzer and that should settle her stomach." He told them. "I'll be downstairs."

"Smallville." She admonished him. "Go."

And he went.

~*~

When Lois finished getting dressed, she walked down to the kitchen and was brought up short at the sight of Mr. Kent sitting at the island. It had been one thing to hear his voice just out of range because he didn't seem real.

He wasn't real now, but seeing him in the kitchen as she'd had for the years she'd lived with the Kent's was making it all _too_ real.

He must have heard her come down the stairs because he turned to face her and Lois felt her eyes tear. He seemed to take it as worry because he was off the stool in a shot and had his arms around her briefly before he let her go. "She's fine, honey. In fact, she was up and around not fifteen minutes after she finished the Alka-Seltzer and now she's out in the yard playing with Shelby."

"I don't know about that, Dad." It slipped out and Lois froze for a moment, not knowing if she called him that. But he didn't react to it, so she figured she did. "Shelby's not exactly a pup any more."

"True. But he survived your early attempts at cooking, so we figure he'll be around for awhile." He grinned a grin that looked so much like Clark's; it didn't matter that Jonathan Kent wasn't his natural father. They were still very much father and son in every way.

"You and Mom did do, apparently." She smiled at his joke and felt more at ease with the familiarity. "And we both know Clark doesn't count."

"He made a good show of it though." Overacted would have been more like it, she guessed. "It doesn't matter now, because you're almost as good a cook as Martha." He pulled out a stool and motioned for her to sit. "And you make our son as happy as Martha makes me."

"He makes it easy." She shrugged. "He's given me a life I could have only dreamed about before.

_Dream, thy name is irony._

"Don't forget that the same is true for him." Clark's father put a fresh cup of coffee down in front of her and he smiled again. "It's funny that you lost your taste for coffee the whole time you were carrying Ellen and Sam. But the first thing you wanted after having them was a cup of coffee."

That sounded like something she would do.

"Lois, I've never really had the chance before now to tell you how proud Martha and I are of you." He grew serious. "You did a wonderful job for me as my Chief of Staff while I was in Topeka and I appreciate how difficult things would get at times. But I always felt that if I'd had anybody else in that position, they wouldn't have done half the job that you did because you cared. And don't say you were just doing your job."

Mr. Kent anticipated rightly what she was about to say.

"You were a tremendous help to Martha too, having to travel back and forth so much from Smallville. I couldn't have gotten through it without you."

"Why didn't you run for re-election?"

_He would have won in a landslide if he'd had the chance. _

"Because I wanted to be home with my family. And I wanted to see if you and that stubborn son of mine would finally face up to the feelings that had been building between you for so long."

"Feelings?"

"Don't look at me like that, young lady, you know exactly what I mean. Your relationship with Clark built in a way that lasting relationships always do, beginning with friendship. And even _that_ took awhile to get started."

"That's true." She nodded her agreement and was surprised when he suddenly stood up.

"Just so you know dinner plans have changed, so I need to get the afternoon milking done before your dad gets here. Martha asked if you would get the baked potatoes ready."

She nodded. "Anything else?"

"Only one thing." He hugged her again and smiled. "Take care of our family."

He walked out of the kitchen, through the living room and stopped at the front door. He opened it and gave her a wave before he turned and closed the door behind him.

Lois looked around and was getting the oddest sensation that she was being pulled out of her dream because the kitchen was starting to take on a decidedly dreamlike quality.

Her head started spinning again and she felt as though she was going to pass out as everything went black.

When she opened her eyes again she was in the same place where she'd gone to sleep the night before, she was back in the suite of the _Regent Hotel_.

Clark was holding her close and she could hear his rushing heartbeat against her ear. The sound of it was comforting and familiar and she wondered what they were going to do after they'd checked out.

But that thought was put aside when Clark became agitated in his sleep. She boosted herself up on an elbow and put her free hand over his heart. It was beating a lot faster than it had been just a moment before and she started to worry. "Smallville, wake up. Smallville?"

His eyes were open and they darted around the room, almost as though he was trying to orient himself. _She knew the feeling. _

"Lois, are we still at the _Regent_?" That was an odd question to ask coming out of a dead sleep.

"Yeah. And we have to check out today."

"Right." He nodded and he seemed to hesitate in looking at her. "Check out."

"Clark, are you all right?" Lois was getting the weirdest sense of deja vu and she wasn't sure why.

"Fine, I'm fine." He kept nodding and seemed really nervous. He glanced down at her stomach and sighed. "I just had a really strange dream."

'_Me, too.' _

"I'm going to take a shower." He couldn't seem to get out of bed fast enough and bolted for the bathroom.

"Knock yourself out." She answered the closing door and rolled over to his side of the bed, grabbing his pillow and inhaling the familiar scent that was Clark Kent.

_What were they going to do? _


	20. Check Out Time

Their last morning in the room that they'd shared for the last week started out, to say the least, awkwardly. Lois hardly looked at him and when she did sneak a glance, she blushed.

Talking was at a minimum as she'd brushed past him into the bathroom when he'd finished his shower and told her it was free. If he didn't know better, she'd given him the once over as he stood in the doorway wearing only his sweats.

If he'd thought it through, he probably should have put a tee shirt on before coming out, but didn't because he had to admit that he liked the way she appraised him without trying to be obvious about it.

While Lois took her time with a long shower, Clark took his time getting dressed. He got a clean pair of socks out of the dresser drawer and sat down at the foot of the bed. And as he pulled them on, he glanced at the bathroom door.

They were going to have to talk. About the fact that they'd been sleeping together for the last few nights and what they were supposed to do once they left the hotel.

Clark wasn't the kind of guy to jump into bed with a woman and Lois knew that. If he had been, there was no way that she would have offered to share it with him. She would have put him out on the couch in the sitting room or on the floor in the bedroom, where he'd spent that first night.

But she'd offered because she trusted him. She trusted him not to take advantage of the situation and to be the gentleman his parents raised.

And he _had_ been, to a fault.

That's why it was so interesting that they were always together when he would wake up in the morning. She would be tucked trustingly in his arms, her head on his shoulder with her even breathing telling him that she was sleeping soundly.

It was a gentle sound that he'd become accustomed to and wondered how he would be able to sleep that night without her at the farm. _Who was he kidding?_ Without her in his arms was more accurate.

He also knew that he needed to tell her what he'd dreamed about, to reassure her that he was all right and that his abrupt departure from the bed wasn't her fault. He just didn't know how to explain what had happened to him because he didn't really understand why he dreamed what he did and what it meant.

A dream that vivid _had_ to mean something.

It was funny because Clark had never been one to believe in dreams before, but what he'd experienced was more than just a dream. It had to mean something that Dad was there and that he approved of his relationship with Lois.

Had his parents always seen something between them even when he and Lois didn't? Had there been an unspoken hope that they would find their way to each other?

They'd always liked Lois, even when he and she weren't entirely sure that they could stand each other. They'd welcomed her into their home, twice and let her know that she was always welcome, even when Clark was certain that it would be too soon before he saw her again.

Dad was right in what he'd said, that Lois shook his life up when it really needed to be shaken up. Of course, Dad hadn't been wrong about much when he was alive and had always been a keen judge of character.

Clark had always liked to think that he was too, but his track record on that score disproved his theory, except when it came to Lois.

Other than his parents, she was the only person he knew he could count on without a second thought. She was the only person he could trust without hesitation.

Lana, Oliver and to his deep disappointment, even Chloe had proven to be untrustworthy and duplicitous. Their excuses had always been that they were trying to protect him. And in their own minds, they probably thought they were. But it didn't make it any easier to accept.

_Accept what, Clark, that they were human?_

Lois was human too, but she'd never been untrustworthy or duplicitous; she'd always been, well, Lois. And it was what Clark had come to love so much about her.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the bathroom door open. And he wasn't aware that Lois had walked to the bed and come to a stop in front of him until he felt her fingers brush through his hair.

Clark looked up and was worried at the pensive look that was on her face, just before she kissed him.

He was so surprised by her sudden action that he couldn't react. And because of that, she leaned into his body and urged his lips to part for her. He was getting the oddest feeling that she was searching for something in his kiss; he just didn't know what it could be.

And then she stopped, something was wrong.

Tears had begun to roll out of the corners of her eyes and stepping out of the shelter of his legs; Lois sat down next to him and sighed. She grabbed for his hand and he held it tight, waiting, while she put her head on his shoulder.

"Smallville, have you ever thought about kids? I mean, _having_ kids." She amended as he felt her body shaking so badly and Clark wondered why she was asking.

"Not really." He told her honestly. "Not because I don't want them, I just don't know if I'll be able to have them."

_If that's true, then what was that dream about?_

"Oh." She sighed again. "I never used to think about them either. Mostly because I didn't think I'd be very good at it. But I think you'd be a great dad."

"You'll be a great mom too, Lois. You just don't know it yet."

"Maybe." He felt her shrug and then she stilled. "But if I ever did have kids, I know who I'd want their father to be."

_That_ got his attention.

Why was she suddenly talking about kids? "Lois, is there a reason why we're talking about this? We're not even dating yet."

"Do you _want_ to date me?" She asked.

'_I want to have my kids with you.' _He answered silently but to her, he nodded. "Yes, Lois I want to date you."

"Okay." She acknowledged. "So why don't you think you'll be able to have kids?"

She brought it back around and he had no idea what was prompting her line of questioning. "As far as Jor-El knows, there hasn't been a successful mixing of Kryptonians with any other species."

"Other species, he means _humans_." She sniffed indignantly.

"Probably." He told her. "It doesn't mean it can't happen, there just isn't any record of it."

"Maybe _we_ could start a record." Lois' voice was barely a whisper and he wondered if she meant for him to hear. "Maybe we-"

She didn't finish her thought.

Then a thought of his own started to nag at him, but the idea of it was so fantastic that he pushed the thought away. But as is the case with things you don't want to think about, it was an idea that just seemed to gain momentum. Was it remotely possible that-

_No, it couldn't be. _He mentally shook his head. _Could it?_

"Lois, if it were possible, would you _like_ to have my babies?" He felt his face burning as he asked her such an intimate question.

"Only if you want to give them to me." She squeezed his hand with a grip so hard that if he weren't indestructible, she might very well have dislocated his fingers.

"You know there's only one way for that to happen." It felt as though his heart was skipping every other beat as they sat together talking about sex and kids.

"Well, you did say that half the fun was the trying." She laughed softly and then he heard her take in a sharp breath that bordered on a gasp. "I did _not_ just say that."

She tugged her hand free of his and was off the bed. She rushed out of the bedroom and as he stood up to follow her, he heard the door to the room open and then close again.

_They'd done it again._

His suspicion about what might have happened was true; they'd been in the same dream, again. Or at least something pretty similar because he didn't remember saying that to her.

He definitely would have remembered that.

Clark rushed out of the room; heedless of the fact that he hadn't put his shoes on yet and grabbed his key card off the dresser on his way into the sitting room. He pulled open the door and she was already half way to the elevator.

Lois was high tailing it away from him as fast as she could and if he didn't hurry; she was going to be on the elevator. So, with a quick look up and down the hallway, he used his super speed to beat her to it.

"That's cheating." She frowned at him and Clark could hear her heart beating double time.

"And you're running." He blocked her from pushing the call button. "Why are you running, Lois?"

"I'm not running." She pushed at his chest, but he refused to budge. "I'm getting some fresh air."

"We have a balcony outside our room." He countered gently. "You could sit out there and get all the fresh air you need."

"I need to clear my head." Lois tried again. "And I can't do it with you so close."

"Why do you need to clear your head?" Clark persisted while basking in the fact that his proximity affected her. "Is it something that maybe you dreamed last night?"

Her head shot up and there was a look in her eyes that he couldn't decipher. "I didn't dream about anything, not one single solitary thing. Nope, I slept like a baby." Her face flushed and she put her hands up, as though she were saying _'scratch that'. _"I mean I slept fine, slept great."

She turned back for their room and when she stopped in front of the door, she sighed.

"Lois?"

"I forgot my key."

"It's all right." He held up his own for her to see.

She looked down and he heard her laugh again. "You're also in your socks, Smallville."

"You're the only girl I know who would make me forget my shoes." He smiled at her hesitantly because as soon as she looked at him, she grew serious again. So Clark unlocked the door and waited for Lois to walk in ahead of him.

"Give me a minute and I can build a fire if you want." He offered, as she seemed to keep her distance. "And then maybe you can tell me about the dream you had."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She shook her head. "Because I'm not sure I believe it myself."

"I'll tell you what. While I get the fire started, you can call room service for coffee and then we can tell each other what we dreamed."

Lois agreed with a reluctant nod before she walked to the desk and picked up the telephone receiver. "And then maybe you'll explain to me why you were so agitated when you woke up."

"I don't know if you'd believe _me_." He walked to the fireplace and moved the fire screen aside before picking up the previous days _Planet_. "It was a little surreal."

"It seemed to be the night for it." She turned around and Clark heard her punch in the number for the front desk. "Hi, this is Lois Kent in the honeymoon suite."

_He liked how that sounded, and how easily she said it. _

"I'd like to order a coffee service." She requested and while Lois waited, he turned back to the fireplace and started crumpling up sheets of the newspaper. "Coffee and juice. Yes, orange please. Pastries? Yes. Breakfast? I think this going to be it, but if we change our minds, one of us will call. Ten minutes? That'd be great, thanks." And he heard her hang up. "If you don't mind, I'm going to finish drying my hair before we talk."

She was stalling, but it was preferable to her bolting and she made a beeline for the bedroom, closing the doors behind her. If that wasn't a clear signal for him to keep his distance, he didn't know what _would_ be.

'_Give her time, son.' _Clark could hear the faint sound of his dad's voice reassure him. _'She loves you and that's the important thing.'_

'_I love her too, Dad.'_

'_Then hold on to that love and trust her. She'll tell you what's going on.'_

'_I hope so.' _He sighed.

'_I know so, Clark.' _He heard the familiar chuckle echo in his heart. _'Your mother was the same way. Just remember this, because Martha knew it and deep down Lois knows it too; the Kent men are irresistible.'_

'_Well, she's doing a lot of resisting right now.'_

'_Maybe she's resisting because she wants to get this right.' _Clark could almost feel Dad's hand on his shoulder. _'She had a lot of bad relationships before she decided to give you a chance and she wants this to be the one relationship she gets right. She wants this to be the last relationship she ever has.' _

_'I want that too, Dad.'_

_'Then be patient with her.' _The calm words eased the tight apprehension in his chest that he'd started to feel. _'She's not pulling away from you, Clark she just needs to catch her breath. Things have been taking their own time with the two of you and this sudden shift in your friendship wasn't something she was expecting.'_

'_I wasn't either.'_

'_I know. But even though you weren't expecting it, you still acted on it. She's not used to that with you.' _

'I'm_ not used to it. I seem to do things when it comes to Lois that I wouldn't do for any other girl.'_

'_That's the way it should be when you're in love. And you want to know something else? Lois probably does things for you that she wouldn't do for any other guy. Think about that.'_

He did, as he arranged the small pieces of wood on the fire grate and then with a short blast of his heat vision, he got the fire started. As he paced the room waiting for Lois and for room service, he kept an eye on the fire and kept building on it until it was strong enough for him to place some large pieces of wood on the grate and they caught.

His favorite part of fall weather had always been watching his dad build fires in the fireplace. It always gave the house a cheerful feel as the flames helped ward off the cold. It was where he and Mom and Dad would spend their evenings together while Dad read the paper, Mom knitted and he would do his homework.

Those were happy days for him and he hoped that he would be able to build more of those kinds of memories with Lois. And that she would want to build them with him.

A knock at the door of the room got his attention and he walked over to open it.

"Good morning, Mr. Kent. You ordered a coffee service?"

"We did." Clark opened the door wide to let the waiter in, who stood behind a breakfast cart. "You can leave it by the fireplace."

"Would you like me to set up the table for you?"

"That's all right." He shook his head. "We'll just set everything up on the coffee table."

"Very good. Your wife said you might be having breakfast later." He wheeled the cart inside and left it where Clark requested.

"We have to check out today and we still haven't packed, so we may not have time."

_Why was the thought of leaving so disappointing?_

"Well, this isn't something we make a habit of telling our guests." He headed back to the open door. "But since you _are_ on your honeymoon and if you decide to stay an extra hour or two, just let the front desk know and we'll be happy to delay your departure."

_Remember to leave that out of the story. _

"We appreciate that, thank you." Clark didn't know why he was surprised. He'd learned within the first couple of days that the _Regent Hotel_ was a first class operation all the way because it wasn't the just honeymoon couples that they treated so well.

He'd managed to talk to some of the guests who were there on vacations or for conventions and every person he talked to related something that the hotel staff had done to make their stay an enjoyable one.

He heard one of the doors to the bedroom open and when he turned, he saw Lois leaning against the doorjamb. "Are we going to stay later?"

"Only if you want to." He shrugged and couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. "If you'd rather get out of here at checkout time, we can. You're probably ready to get home anyway."

"Yeah, to an empty apartment with my own voice as company." She sighed and boosted herself away from the door and walked toward the fireplace. "But even if Chloe were there, I don't know that I could talk to her right now."

Clark understood what she was feeling; he was going back to an empty house. And he wasn't too sure he wanted to talk to Chloe either.

"You're welcome to come back to the farm, if you want to." He made the offer; almost sure that she would turn him down. "We can just hang out for the rest of the day or we can start working on the story. And if you want to stay for dinner, I can whip up something. I'm not as good a cook as my mom, but you've never complained."

"I _never_ complain when somebody else does the cooking." She couldn't quite hold his gaze. "Does that offer of the farm include a night in your mom's bed?"

_She wanted to stay overnight? _

"Only if you want to." He nodded. "If not, I'll take you into town when we get through with dinner."

"You wouldn't have to." She reminded him. "I drove my car out to your place, remember?"

_That's right, she did._

"Well, if you didn't feel like driving I could still take you." He just didn't want to say goodbye to her yet.

"We'll see, Smallville." She placated him with a pat on his chest as she zeroed in on the breakfast cart. "But in the meantime, we're letting a nice fire and hot coffee go to waste."

He couldn't help it and put his hand on the spot where hers had just been; he really loved it when she touched him.

"You have to give the _Regent_ credit; they do put on a nice spread." Lois commented. "This would add a few bucks to the bill."

"Which is one of the reasons you ordered it, I'm sure." He laughed softly, cautiously as he joined her. She jumped slightly and he swallowed a sigh. "I seem to remember you saying something about Tess paying for this, literally."

"It wouldn't hurt Oliver to shell out a few pennies either, seeing as how he _does_ have controlling interest in the _Planet_." She glanced up at him. "_And_ because he gave you such a rough time the other night. I'm sorry he embarrassed you like that."

"I was more concerned when he put you on the spot like he did." He reached up and brushed a finger against her soft cheek and his heart warmed when she closed her eyes briefly and leaned into his touch. "He singled you out more than me and you had to take the brunt of his attention."

"Water under the bridge." Lois put her concentration back on the coffeepot and poured herself a cup. Amazingly, there was one single maple donut on the pastry plate and she picked it up, taking a generous bite. She then presented him with the side she'd just bitten a piece out of.

Whenever she'd shared with him before, which Clark had to admit was almost never, she'd always turned whatever it was she'd been eating and given him his own half. Not this time.

She was sharing what was hers; and he knew what a big deal that was.

So he took a bite and her face flushed. That prompted him to take the donut out of her hand and put it back on the cart. He swallowed the small bite he'd taken before he faced her again and then he kissed her.

She was in his arms in a second as he got her in his embrace and her arms wound around his neck. She pressed her body into his and he thought he finally understood what she was looking for, her husband.

With the feel of her body so close to his and the vivid memory of a life they'd created together moving between them, _he_ suddenly wanted his wife. The woman who'd carried two children who didn't yet exist and who'd loved him unconditionally besides.

They still needed to talk and he knew that, but he wanted her more.

He _needed_ her.

Lois was the one who came to her senses first and very gently shook her head before she pulled out of their kiss and just held him.

She was shaking as bad as he was.

"I'm sorry." She whispered her apology in his ear. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Lois. I understand." He really did and held her tight to prove it. "I think it's time we talk about what we dreamed last night because they weren't run of the mill dreams, were they?"

She nodded her agreement and took his hand, leading him to the couch. She sat down, curling a leg underneath her and waited for him to follow. The pensive look was gone when he settled next to her, but he didn't like the lack of color in her face. "So who goes first, you or me?"

"If you'd like to go first and get it over with, I don't mind." He offered and instead of getting a nod as he expected, he got a frown.

"Clark, was I pregnant?" She turned red with embarrassment and he felt his own face heat when he nodded that she was.

"I wasn't in mine." Her head went down and she was studying her nervous hands as they clasped and unclasped. "I'd just had him."

_They had a boy?_

She gave him a quick look before her head went down again, but she had a soft smile on her face. "He looked just like you."

"We had a daughter too, didn't we?" He reached out for one of her nervous hands and felt the tremors. "She looked like the both of us."

She shook her head and wouldn't look at him. "I think it's more accurate to say that she looked like me, but she had your eyes. I was really glad about that."

"You were, why?" He was curious to know.

"Because you have the most gorgeous blue eyes I've ever seen and I was happy to see that they had them too." She looked into the very eyes she was talking about and he smiled bashfully.

"No one's ever told me that." He suddenly found himself unable to look at her. "I wouldn't have minded if they'd had yours because I could stare into them all day."

"Really?" There was a sweet hopefulness in her voice, as though she couldn't believe he was telling her that. "They're just plain old gray."

"But they're not." He disagreed with her and took a breath before he looked up into the very eyes he could drown in. "I've never seen eyes quite like yours before and when I think about it, it makes sense. I've never met a girl like you before."

"I've never met a guy like you either, and I'm not talking about your abilities." She answered with a sigh. "You have the biggest heart of anyone I know and you'd go to the ends of the earth to help someone if they needed it, never mind that you actually can. You may not have been born a Kent, but you _are_ Jonathan and Martha's son in every other sense of the word."

"Dad was there too." He told her and she nodded.

"He'd gone to the senate for a term and came home." She remarked.

"And you went to Topeka with him as his Chief of Staff." Clark smiled at her. "I know how much Mom appreciated all the hard work you did for _her_ and I know Dad would have too."

"He did."

"You got to see him?" That information pleased him, a lot. "I'm happy you got that chance, Lois. He thought a lot of you."

"I know he did." She grasped his fingers. "He told me often enough when he was campaigning for the senate, but I've got to say that I never quite believed him. I thought he was being, well, Jonathan Kent; polite to a fault and never saying a bad word against anyone." Clark was about to object when she put her hand up to stop what she had to know was coming. "But hearing it again last night, knowing that I never had the chance to thank him for his faith in me, it meant a lot."

Then she looked at him hesitantly.

"Clark, this is going to sound a little weird. But do you think that maybe your dad engineered that whole thing? The dreams I mean."

"I don't know." He kept a hold of her hand. "I was never a big believer in dreams before but the fact that Dad was in both our dreams and we had the opportunity to talk to him, I don't see why not."

"So going on that theory, do you think he was showing us what's _going_ to happen or what _could_ happen?" She wondered.

"I think he was presenting one possibility to us." He said to her and then thought about how it sounded. "Which I guess is showing us what could happen. But knowing Dad as I do, his main concern is that we're both happy. And if we're happier together than apart, that makes _him_ happy."

"Your mom made him happy."

"She made him really happy and he made her happy, too." He agreed. "And maybe that's what he wanted us to see, that we could be as happy together as they were."

"Maybe."

"You do make me happy, Lois." He tucked his free hand under her chin and brought her eyes level with his. "I have to admit that you're the last girl that I ever thought would make me this happy, but I wouldn't trade what we've got now or what we might still have, for anything."

"Even if it means having a daughter that's too much like her mother?" She teased and for the first time all morning, she had a real smile on her face.

"If I can handle _you_, I can certainly handle a five-year-old version of you." The very thought of that warmed his chest.

"If it's meant to be, we'll just see about that." She countered with a soft kiss and he kissed her back. "But as long as our little one is like you, it'll balance out." She then put a hand to her flat abdomen. "We named him for our dads, Samuel Jonathan."

_That was a good name. _

"I'm not sure how Dad would feel having a grandson named for him, but I think he'd be really pleased to know that we named a granddaughter for my mom."

"And I'm not sure how Mom would feel giving that same granddaughter her name as a middle name. But I know she'd be just as pleased that we would give her grandson Dad's as _his_ middle name."

Lois sighed. "So what exactly are we supposed to do with all this information, Clark? Are we supposed to use it as some kind of template for our future? Or do we take it in the spirit that it was given and just know that the possibility is there, if we want to take it?"

"I think we need to take things slow and let our relationship develop the same way our friendship did, in it's own time." He remembered what Dad had said. "If we're meant to be together and if we're meant to have kids together, it'll happen, in it's own time."

"I honestly can't imagine having kids with anyone else but you."

_He couldn't either. _

"At some point in the future, we could always go up to the Fortress and talk to Jor-El." He offered her the opportunity. "There might even be something in the crystals that can give us more information. I'll leave that up to you."

"Let's just see how serious this gets first and then I'll let you know."

"Fair enough." He agreed with a nod. "But in the meantime, we've got coffee that's getting cold and pastries that are going to dry out if we don't eat them."

"And a fire that's going to die if you don't get to work, so chop-chop." His Lois was back and he breathed a silent sigh of relief as he got up off the couch to tend to the fire while she headed back to the breakfast cart.

He watched her for a moment as she picked up the maple donut and broke it down the middle, putting each half on separate plates.

"Never say I don't share, Smallville." She gave him a sweet smile and blushed.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Lois." He grinned as she turned back to finish filling their plates.

_He'd already dreamed of something else._


	21. Home Is Where the Heart Is

So much had been said that morning she couldn't take back, and Lois wasn't sure that she wanted to.

She'd been given a glance into a life that she never thought she'd be able to have with a guy she never dreamed she'd want. And it was odd to think that it _was_ possible, to have him and children.

Well _him_ anyway, children were another matter.

If there came a time that they decided to make their relationship permanent, Lois could live with adopting children if they couldn't have any of their own. The Kent's had adopted Clark and to anyone who didn't know that, they would've have just assumed that Mrs. Kent had carried him herself for nine months.

That's how it would be with her and Clark.

Still.

A little baby boy that looked like him, a little Smallville who grabbed hold of her heart the way his father had and made her insides melt like butter, the same way _he_ had.

_Smallville._

Her former dorky farm boy who was on his way to becoming quite the ace reporter kissed her like she was the only woman in the world for him. And he did because she was, Lois had no doubts in her mind about that.

For the first time she felt that they'd each put their "Ghosts of Relationships Past" firmly behind them, once and for all. And the window into a possible future for them only reinforced it for her.

"Hey, you almost packed?" Lois felt a familiar pair of hands drop gently onto her shoulders and a soft kiss pressed to her hair.

"Don't tell me, you're all ready to go?" She smiled and reached behind to put a hand on his cheek.

"All packed and I didn't even use super speed." He laughed and gave her shoulders a squeeze before taking her hand and kissing her fingers. "I just called the front desk. They're sending up a bellman in a few minutes to come get our bags."

She nodded.

"Are you okay?" Clark turned her around and she could see the concern on his face. "You've been pretty quiet all morning."

"Most people wouldn't consider that a bad thing, Smallville." She smiled at him. "I think they'd be kind of relieved that I'm not running my mouth for awhile."

The moment she said it, she knew what he was going to do; and he did.

He kissed her.

"I suppose you're going to make a habit of doing that?" Her knees were shaking and she held onto his shoulders for support.

"Since you don't seem to mind, why shouldn't I?" His eyes were sparkling with amusement. "Catching you off guard is just a bonus."

"Well as much as I like all the manhandling, I'd like it even more if you'd take one last look around and make sure we didn't forget anything." She gave him a gentle push and he stepped back, but his hands were still at her waist.

"I'd rather look at you."

'_I'd rather you did too', _but- "I'd rather not leave anything behind."

"I'd rather not leave." He sighed. "But I know we have to."

Lois reached up to run a hand through his hair and she nodded. "We do. Things have changed since we got here and now it's time to see how it's going to work in the real world."

"Listen to you." He smiled at her. "You sound like me."

_He was right._

"Yeah, well don't let that go to your head. It's probably not going to happen again."

"Probably?" Clark lifted his eyebrows at her and she punched his shoulder, which only made him laugh.

"You're a bad influence, Smallville." She kissed his cheek. "The next thing you know, I'll be out in the barn milking the cow."

"I think she'd appreciate it if you didn't." He kissed her cheek in return and stepped back as she took aim at his shoulder again, and missed. "Did you take a look around yourself?"

"You forget who you're talking to, Clark." Lois gave him a pointed look. "I graduated from the General's School of Squaring Away a Room. So to answer your question-"

He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Point taken."

"I knew you'd see it my way."

"You usually make sure that I do." He kissed her cheek again. "But to answer _your _question, I did take a look around. You may have learned at the General's School, but I have x-ray vision."

"Show off."

"It's only showing off if you're impressed." He teased as he picked up her dress bag from the bed and gave her his most innocent look. "Are you?"

"No." She deadpanned and he nodded.

"Just checking." Clark seemed really pleased that her attitude toward him hadn't changed, knowing about the Blur and what he could do.

A knock at the door of the suite had Lois closing her suitcase and zipping the lid shut. "You go ahead, I'm right behind you."

"I can take that if you want." He offered as Lois pulled the suitcase off of the bed with a shake of her head.

"I've got it, so go." She pointed a finger toward the door of the bedroom.

"Going." He smiled and walked out into the sitting room. Lois started to follow him, but found herself stopping at the door of the bedroom and turning around. So much had happened in that room, in the _suite_ if she were to be perfectly honest about it and she really wanted to stay.

"Come on, honey." Clark's voice was gentle. She felt her suitcase being slipped out of her hand and _his_ hand replaced it. "It's time to go."

'_I know.' _She said silently and nodded.

When they got to the door of the suite, Clark handed Lois' suitcase to the bellman and he placed it on the luggage carrier. After Lois closed the door behind them, he pulled the cart toward the elevator.

Clark kept a hold of her hand and she walked with him, clasping his tightly.

The only other time she'd had this hard of a time leaving a place she'd stayed, was the farm. It was what she'd had to do because she'd never had a real place of her own and wanted that chance.

This was the first place she'd stayed that was _theirs_, even though they weren't a them, yet. But it was the place that they'd begun to _become_ a them and now she and Clark were going to find out if he and she could be that outside the walls of the _Regent Hotel_.

When they got downstairs, Clark gave the bellman the keys to Lois' car. And while the luggage was taken outside, Clark checked them out of their room.

He handed the desk clerk the credit card Tess had given them to use and their key cards. "I hope you enjoyed your stay with us."

"We did." Clark told the clerk before giving Lois a smile. "I think it's fair to say that it was more than we expected."

She smiled back at him and nodded.

"That's always nice to hear." The clerk smiled at them both and then looked at the screen. Lois watched as she typed something on the keyboard and then behind her there was noise of a printer.

She turned to get the pages and then put one of the them on the counter. "If you'll look this over and make sure that everything is correct, I'll have you sign it."

Lois stood next to Clark, looking over the charges and she laughed softly. She had ordered room service each morning for breakfast and Clark had ordered dinner the night before.

They could have just as easily gone down to the dining room or the coffee shop for breakfast, but Lois had held fast to her determination that Tess would pay for their stay at the _Regent_. And she had.

"Everything looks fine to me." He looked at Lois. "What do you think?"

"It's fine." She told him and he took the pen the desk clerk held out. He signed at the bottom and was given a copy of the bill. The credit card was returned along with a receipt.

"I hope you'll remember the _Regent Hotel_ the next time you're in Metropolis. Have a safe trip home."

"We will, thank you." Clark pulled his wallet out of his pocket and tucked the card away while Lois picked up the receipts, folded them in half and put them in her bag. "You ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She sighed softly and he took her hand again and squeezed it. "Let's go home."

It was his turn to nod without a word and tugged her gently toward the front entrance. She felt his hand on her back when he guided her out ahead of him and as he came to a stop next to her, the car was waiting for them. The engine was running, with the driver and passenger doors open.

The valet had just closed the trunk of her car and approached Clark. "You're all set."

"Thank you." He walked to the passenger door and waited for Lois.

_Always the gentleman. _The thought crossed her mind as she put her hand on his that was resting on the top of the door frame. "Always the Boy Scout, aren't you, Smallville?"

"And I have the merit badges to prove it." He leaned in with a smile and a soft kiss. "I can show them to you if you want."

"Just get me home." She kissed him back. "That's what I want."

"Home it is." He nodded his agreement as Lois got into the car and sat down. And before he closed the door, he glanced next to her. "Seatbelt."

'_Yes, Dad.' _Lois resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead reached over to grasp the seatbelt in her hand and secure it just as Clark sat down and closed his door. Lois was about to tease him about his seatbelt when, of course, he reached for it. And when he caught Lois's eye, he was smiling.

_He knew what she'd been thinking._

By the time they were underway and headed toward the main road that would take them back to Smallville, Clark reached over for her hand. She squeezed his fingers and could see his smile as he kept his eyes on the road.

For someone who'd never been comfortable with silences, Lois had learned to become comfortable with it, with Clark. He was the only person she knew that she didn't feel like she had to be talking to, to feel a connection.

He didn't have to be holding her hand to feel it either; she was glad he was though.

Lois wasn't aware that she'd fallen asleep until she felt the car turn and heard the crunch of the dirt road under the tires.

_They were home._

"Hey, sleepyhead." She felt fingers move against her leg as she found her hand still in his. "We're home."

_She really liked the sound of that._

"I forgot what a good driver you are." She opened her eyes as he brought the car to a stop and shut off the engine. "You're the only person I'm willing to sit in the passenger seat for."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He laughed softly.

"You were supposed to." She ran a thumb across his knuckles. "I guess when you learn to drive a tractor-"

"You know, Lois." He stopped the comment he has to know was coming. "Before we got this last minute assignment, I _was_ going to plow under the fields to get them ready for spring planting. And since you still like to tease me about being a farm boy, maybe you'd like to ride with me tomorrow when I do." He shrugged his shoulders, looking expectantly as to what her answer would be.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Lois had an idea, but she wanted to hear it from him.

"Well, the tractor can only seat one person." His face flushed. "So you'd have to sit on my lap."

_And there it was_, Clark Kent's version of courtship.

"That sounds like fun." _Of course it does, Lois, _but she still had to do it. "Crowded on to a tractor with _you_."

"How about I let you drive?" He lifted his eyebrows in question. "Then maybe it wouldn't be so unbearable."

"Smallville, you do know who you're talking to."

"I know exactly who I'm talking to and I also know you never back down from a challenge." His eyebrows stayed where they were as he waited.

"So this is a challenge then?"

"If it gets you on that tractor with me, you bet it is." Clark was grinning. "So what do you say?"

_I know exactly what to say._

"Clark, I drive in Metropolis everyday. Driving a tractor will be a piece of cake compared to that." She felt the need to inform him.

"And I've been with you when you drive in Metropolis, Lois." He seemed to feel the need to inform _her_. "I don't think it's going to be as easy as you think."

_Really._

"We'll see about that." She pulled her hand out of his and opened her door. He answered her bravado with a laugh as she got out of the car; she'd show him.

_How hard could it really be?_

Clark got out of the car and walked back to the open trunk. "Why don't you come get your suitcases? You can do your laundry while your here."

"I can do my laundry at the _Talon_."

"I know." He smiled. "But it doesn't cost anything to do your laundry here."

_It's costing more than he thinks._

"I just don't want to repack again." Lois wasn't sure why she was balking because it wouldn't have been the first time she'd taken over Clark's laundry room. It shouldn't have been such a big deal.

"All right." He gave her a funny look before he retrieved his bag and closed the trunk. "But you can always change your mind."

"Thanks." She nodded as he walked toward the house. She followed behind, looking up at the familiar yellow farm house that had been home to her, twice.

The thought briefly crossed her mind that she wouldn't mind if it were home again.

Lois nearly walked into him when Clark stopped on the porch. "A little warning next time. Okay, Smallville?"

"Next time watch where you're going, Lois." He was more amused than she would have liked as he set his bag down and turned around. "I may have x-ray vision, but I don't have eyes in the back of my head."

His face flushed again and he gave her a hesitant smile. "Now in my final duty of being a husband, there's something I'd like to do. But I need you to help me."

_Did she even need to ask?_

"How do I do that?"

"By not arguing with me." He took her hand. "Please?"

He really was so sweet and Lois felt so lucky that she finally had someone in her life who wanted to be with her so much. "Okay."

"Okay." Clark repeated and smiled before he got an arm around her back and as she looped her arms around his neck, he bent to get his other arm under her knees and picked her up.

"I guess carrying me over the threshold once wasn't enough for you, was it?" Lois felt her cheeks warm as she reached over and turned the knob to open the front door.

"I don't hear you complaining." He smiled at her and brushed his lips against her cheek before he carried her into the house.

"Why would I?" She smiled back as he set her on her feet.

"I'm sure you'd find a reason." Clark grasped her firmly by her shoulders and kissed her.

Lois knew she should have objected to the fact that he was manhandling her, again, but she couldn't find it in herself to do it. It was a side of Clark that she'd never seen before the previous week and it was a side of him that thrilled her; as if she'd ever tell him that.

Well, not yet anyway.

"I take it the assignment went well." Lois heard the amused query of a familiar voice. She let go of Clark's neck and turned around, his hands never leaving her shoulders.

_Mrs. Kent. _

"Mom!" He squeezed them before he let her go and walked toward the kitchen where his mother was standing and hugged her. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"It was a last minute decision." She put her hand on his cheek. "You look well, son."

"I'm happy." He stated simply and Mrs. Kent smiled at him.

"I can see why." She then focused her attention on Lois, and her face warmed. "Hi, honey."

Clark had his arm around his mother's shoulders and Lois couldn't help but envy the close relationship they had. "Are you going to stand all the way over there, or am I going to get a hug from my second favorite reporter at the _Daily Planet_?"

And just like that Martha Kent made her feel a part of Clark's family without even trying.

She walked nervously toward the older woman, knowing she'd just seen her in a passionate embrace with her only son, and tried to play it cool. "Only your second?"

"Well I _do_ have a bias." She laughed softly and hugged Lois. "You look well too, Lois. Not working too hard I hope."

"Come on, Mom; this is Lois we're talking about." Clark smiled at her. "Of course she works too hard."

"Then it's your job now to make sure she doesn't." She stated in a matter of fact manner. "Clark, why don't you get your luggage upstairs and Lois can help me with lunch."

_Uh oh. _

"Sure, Mom." He kissed her cheek and looked at Lois. "Are you sure you don't want me to bring anything in?"

"I'm sure." She nodded.

"Okay." He shrugged easily as he let go of his mother and walked through the living room. Lois watched as he picked up his single bag and brought it into the house, closing the door behind him.

It wasn't until he'd gone upstairs that Mrs. Kent put a hand on her arm. "We'll keep it simple."

There was nothing simple about this situation.

"So what brings you back to Kansas?"

_What do you think? _

"After the phone calls I've gotten from you and from Clark, I decided to come home for a couple of days to see for myself what's been happening."

_More than you know._

"If you would get the bread out of the bread box for me, we'll just have sandwiches." Mrs. Kent moved around the kitchen she hadn't been able to step foot in since August. But to Lois, it felt as though she never left.

"So how was the hotel?" She asked easily. "Jonathan's parents gave us a weekend there as a first anniversary present and we always wanted to go back, but never got the chance."

"Did you stay in the honeymoon suite?" Lois set the bread down on the island as Clark's mother set out a selection of meats, condiments and a head of lettuce. She laughed at Lois' inquiry and shook her head.

"His parent's couldn't afford something so extravagant, but we still had a lovely room with a wonderful view of Metropolis. Our first night there, Jonathan opened a bottle of champagne that his parents had ordered for us and turned out the lights. Then we opened the curtains and the windows and just listened to the sounds of the city and watched the lights.

"But you know something? As beautiful as that sight was, it made me appreciate what I had with Jonathan and his parents, here. There's nothing like the tranquility of farm life to soothe away the stress of the city."

"That sounds pretty romantic." Lois sat down and put her chin in her hand.

"What happened after that was pretty romantic, too." She laughed softly and Lois felt the telltale blush creep across her cheeks.

Mrs. Kent reached over and put a hand on hers. "I'm sorry, honey; I didn't mean to embarrass you. I only told you that because I knew you'd appreciate the gesture."

"Clark ordered room service last night." She nodded because she did and then _she _smiled. "He ordered champagne, even though he doesn't drink."

"He did that because he loves you." Lois looked up at her, startled. _How could she- _"It's written all over his face, Lois; yours too for that matter. And I could hear it in your voice when you called me last week, in spite of how afraid of it you were. But something tells me you're not so afraid of it anymore."

"I've never known anyone like him." She finally said. "He's still Smallville, but he's so much more than that."

"My son _is_ a very special young man." Mrs. Kent smiled. "But I guess every mother feels that way about her children."

"Mrs. K, I know how special he is." She caught the eye of Clark's mother. "He told me, _every_thing."

"Well then, it seems as though _you're_ pretty special too." There was a glimmer of unshed tears and then she blinked them away. "When Clark was younger, he was so careful about trying not to be different. He just wanted to be human, which we knew wasn't possible, but we also knew that he could be in danger if the wrong people found out."

_The Luthor's, for one._

"The fact that he chose to tell you says a lot about who you are, Lois." She smiled.

"Well, I think he kind of had to since I saw the Blur standing in our room." Lois shrugged. "He couldn't exactly talk his way out of that."

"Don't fool yourself." Mrs. Kent shook her head. "If Clark didn't want you to see him, he wouldn't have stood there waiting for you to wake up."

_The migraine. _

"He told you about that?"

"There isn't much my son _doesn't_ tell me." She remarked.

"I guess that means he told you about the dreams we've been having." Lois sighed and the look on Mrs. Kent's face was curious.

"He mentioned some dreams he'd been having before you left for the _Regent_, but he didn't tell me that you'd been having them, too."

"That's because he didn't know until we got to the hotel." She felt her face warm again. "And even that wasn't until they both came to the same conclusion."

"I don't suppose I need to ask what that conclusion was?"

"No!" She sounded defensive and knew she didn't need to be. "The fact is, we were dreaming about each other. But we couldn't see faces until the final dream."

"It makes perfect sense to me." Mrs. Kent smiled at her. "Your hearts were trying to tell you something that your minds weren't ready to think about."

"What's that?" Lois asked, even thought she suspected what the answer was going to be.

"That what you and Clark have and what you'll continue to build on is for a lifetime."

"Then the dreams we had last night make more sense." Lois looked at her and decided to dive in. "It was so real, that it felt as though I was there."

"Where exactly were you?"

"Here." _Where else? _"It was six years in the future. We already had a little girl that we named for my mom and for you. And I'd just had a baby boy that we named for Dad and Mr. Kent."

"I know it was only a dream." Mrs. Kent squeezed her hand. "But thank you for that."

Lois sighed again and wondered how to tell her, so she grasped the older woman's hand. "Here's the thing. Mr. Kent was alive and he got to see his grandkids."

"Or maybe he was showing _you_ your children." A tear slipped down her cheek. "Jonathan always knew that there was more to the two of you than either one of you would admit.

"The fact is, you've always seemed to have this sixth sense when the other one has needed help and you drop whatever it is you're doing to go do what you can. It's what's made your friendship so enduring and what's going to make your relationship so lasting . I think your dream just reinforces that."

_Probably._

"I got to hold him." Lois leaned forward and was only able to whisper; she couldn't quite bring herself to say it out loud. "This little baby boy who looked just like Clark."

"Who did your little girl look like?"

"Me." Lois huffed and Mrs. Kent laughed. "Poor kid. But at least she had Clark's eyes, so it wasn't a total loss."

"Oh, honey." She squeezed Lois' hand. "Any babies that you and Clark may have are going to be beautiful. And before you say anything else, I _am_ aware that it may not be possible. But I'd like to think that since you dreamed it, since Jonathan showed you the possibility," She amended. "that it may happen."

"It wouldn't bother you if we had to adopt?"

It wasn't lost on Lois that she was talking about adoption, when she and Clark weren't even dating.

"Not a bit." She shook her head. "Jonathan and I weren't any less parents because Clark wasn't our flesh and blood. And he wasn't any less our son because another woman gave birth to him.

"Even now, I find myself thanking Lara for having the courage and the strength to give up her only child to save him. I often think about that awful time for them and how easy it would have been to have kept Kal-El with her and Jor-El, but she did what a devoted mother does. She put the well being of her child above her need to have him close.

"I admire what she did because without her sacrifice, we wouldn't have had the joy of raising Clark together for fourteen years. And whether you and Clark are blessed to have children of your own, or raise a child that needs parents, I don't think you'll love them any differently."

"I was hoping you'd say that because it wouldn't matter to me, either."

"But you wouldn't mind going through the experience of carrying his child, would you?"

Tears were threatening to spill, so Lois shook her head. _It was too much. _Talking about babies and adoption with Clark's mother. She loved Mrs. Kent and had always appreciated her wise counsel when she'd needed it.

But she _was_ still Clark's mother.

She was vaguely aware of losing the warmth of Mrs. Kent's hands, but a moment later she was pulled into a gentle hug.

"It's all right, honey." The reassuring motion of a hand stroking her back helped to calm her. "All of these things that are happening are good things and you shouldn't be afraid of them."

"My track record with men really sucks." She took a shaky breath and found that she was laughing.

"But those relationships were necessary so that you would know when the right man came along." She soothed.

_They'd had this conversation before._

"Smallville." Lois laughed again and then hiccupped.

"Yes. Smallville. And I'll bet that in spite of that fact, you can't see your life without him in it anymore, can you?"

"No."

"Lois." She felt hands grasping her shoulders and setting her back as Mrs. Kent got her attention. "New relationships are always scary. But I think they're even scarier when you know you've finally met the right man; the man that you can see having a future with. Clark hasn't said it, but I think he's just as scared as you are."

"I don't think he is." Lois disagreed. "He seems so comfortable with all of this. And I'm _try_ing to be, but- "

"But nothing." Her hands remained firmly on her shoulders. "Do you trust him?"

"Of course." She was surprised Mrs. Kent would ask her that. "I trust him with my life."

"Do you trust him with your heart?"

"Yes." She whispered her answer. "I wouldn't love him so much if I didn't."

"Would it be fair to say that you've never loved anyone as much you love him?" The words came softly, with gentle concern. "Or that he's the first man you've ever imagined yourself having children with?"

"Yes." She nodded. "And that scares me."

"It shouldn't." Came the words she needed to hear. "You know Clark better than you think you do, because of all the men you could have fallen for your heart picked him."

She nodded again.

"Lois, trust that love you feel for him. Trust that he's always going to be there for you, the way Jonathan was for me."

"There _is_ the small matter of the Blur." She pointed out the obvious.

"That's true." She nodded her agreement. "But knowing my son as I do, he's trying to figure out a way to be the Blur and be Clark Kent so that he doesn't have to neglect either one of you. And make no mistake, honey, you're just as important to him as his being able to use his abilities to help the world."

"I know." Lois sighed. "Mrs. K, it was one thing for us to be in that room because it wasn't the real world. Don't get me wrong, it isn't something I regret, at _all_. But to be back here, the place where it all kind of started, it just brought home how much has really changed."

"I think you're going to find that things really haven't changed much at all." Mrs. Kent tucked a lock of hair behind her shoulder and patted her arm. "You're still Clark and Lois, the two kids who like to get under each others skin and who know each other better than you know anyone else. And you're the woman my son has chosen to give his whole heart to, without any reservations."

As she listened, Lois could feel her humor slowly returning because she gave Clark's mother a pointed look. "He better not have."

"That's my girl." She hugged Lois again. "Now why don't you go out to the car and get your suitcase. You can do your laundry while we eat, if you like."

"Clark said that, too."

"It seems to be unanimous, then." She smiled as Lois slipped of the stool and stood on her feet. "Honey, you always have a home here. I hope you know that."

"Well, home _is_ where the heart is." _Oh, please. _"Since my heart has always kind of been here."

"And now your heart has made a home with Clark, as his has made a home with you." A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye. "It's what Jonathan and I always wanted for him, to make a home with someone."

"I'll bet you never thought it would be with me."

"It's not that we never thought about it, we just never thought it was possible." Mrs. Kent admitted. "You and Clark are so alike in so many ways, we just didn't think you'd ever see it; I'm glad you finally did."

"So am I." She found herself admitting with a smile and started for the front door before she stopped and turned back around. "I think I _will_ do some laundry while I'm here."

"That's fine, Lois."

"I guess this means you're going to use the rest of the detergent." Clark remarked as he came down the stairs into the kitchen. "It's a good thing I went to the market before we left."

Lois walked back into the kitchen, stopped in front of him before she took his face in her hands and kissed him. "I love you, Smallville."

She then promptly turned around, headed for the front door and put her fingers to her lips. She hadn't given him much of a chance to kiss her back, but her lips tingled nonetheless. "You realize you _are_ on the couch tonight?"

"I do." She could hear the humor in his voice. "But you know I don't mind."

"I do." Lois answered him and then she heard his mother laugh softly as she picked up her car keys from the top of the upright piano and then opened the door. And just as she stepped outside and before she closed the door, she heard his answer.

"I love you too, Lois."

_How could she have gotten so lucky? _


	22. His Heart's Desire

He didn't like it.

He didn't like it at all.

And somewhat belatedly, Clark berated himself for agreeing to share a bed at the _Regent_ with Lois because now he was finding it impossible to go to sleep without the feel of her in his arms.

He should have thought about that when he let her talk him into getting into bed with her that first morning, but he honestly didn't think it would be something he'd become so used to.

_That's just it Clark, you didn't think. _

So there he was shifting from his back to his side, to his stomach and then his back again. He punched the pillow a couple of times before he settled down and folded his arms across his chest.

_She was too far away, _but at least for _that_ night she was upstairs.

Tomorrow night, he'd be back in his own bed, but Lois would be at the _Talon_. That really _was_ too far away.

He closed his eyes again and without being consciously aware of what he was doing, he found that he was listening for her. And as he concentrated, he could hear that she sounded just as restless as he did. Her heartbeat was regular and strong, so that told him that she wasn't sleeping.

She was sighing as he heard her turn over, and then over again. He then heard the sound of the blankets being tossed back and the sound of the mattress as she sat up.

He heard her soft footfalls as she walked to the window of his bedroom and stopped.

"_Smallville, what are we doing?" _She whispered and then sighed again.

"I wish I knew." He whispered himself, finally giving up on trying to get any sleep and sat up.

They really should have talked before they left the hotel about the situation they'd put themselves in and what they were supposed to do about it. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and let out a sigh of his own before he swung his legs over the side of the couch and put his feet on the floor.

He pushed himself up to a stand and with a glance up the stairs, knew what he had to do.

Clark walked into the kitchen and headed toward the stairs so that way he wouldn't have to pass his mother's room. He wasn't sure why he was doing it because he was a grown man who'd been living on his own for the last three years.

But he still thought of the house as his parent's house.

So of course he hit every creaky stair on his way up and every loose floorboard as he moved down the hallway toward his room. And it was inevitable that the hinges on his door squeaked as he opened it, where he found Lois still at the window.

"I should have gone back to the _Talon_." She commented softly, mindful that his mother was asleep just down the hall. "Then maybe I could have gotten some sleep."

"I should have said no," Clark stepped into the room. "when you offered me half of the bed. But it was so big and I figured that you'd stay on your side and I'd stay on mine and it wouldn't be an issue."

"I guess our first clue that it was, was when I woke up and you had your arms around me."

"Or when I woke up and you were in my arms." He kept walking toward her. "Lois, if I'd known that was going to happen-"

"Save it, Smallville." He saw Lois shake her head. "That's not a lot of help right now."

"I know, I'm sorry." He came to a stop behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "The question is, what are we supposed to do now? I mean, it's pretty obvious that we can't sleep and the obvious answer is that we can keep sharing a bed, but-"

"I'm not ready for that either." She turned suddenly, not giving Clark much time to let go of her. Lois put her hands on his chest as he moved his arms around her waist and he could see in the dim light how troubled she looked. "Sleeping with you is the easiest thing I've ever done and I've never felt that before."

"But?"

"As much as I'm not ready for _that_, yet, I've been thinking that maybe we could do something in between." Her arms slipped around his waist and her cheek came to rest over his heart.

_In between? _The very heart she was snuggled against began to thunder in anticipation of what he thought she might be suggesting.

'_Here's the deal. Underwear stays on, hands have certain places that they can't go and we both know where those certain places are. Everything else is negotiable.'_

'_Deal.' _

That conversation sounded so familiar, but he had no idea why because he knew without a doubt that Lois hadn't said that in his dream.

"Lois?" He began carefully because he didn't want her to think he'd misread her comment. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Preliminaries, Clark. That's what I'm talking about." Her low voice was insistent. "I just need to know what it feels like. I only got a short preview because I'd just had him and we really couldn't have done more than that. Preliminaries, I mean."

"At least you had that." Clark put his cheek on her hair and regret washed over him. "You were so far along that you wouldn't even let me see you."

"I don't think any woman wants her husband to see her like that." She sighed and rubbed her cheek against his chest. "It's not a time she looks her best."

"It all depends on how you look at it." He began running his fingers up and down her back. "I think you'd be really beautiful. Lois."

"You told me that, you know." She started toying with the edge of his tee shirt. "You told me that you looked at me with your heart."

Clark wasn't sure if humor was called for at the moment, but he decided to give it a try anyway. "My future self sounds like a real sap."

"Don't kid yourself, Smallville." She accepted his attempt when she laughed softly. "Your present self is already pretty sappy."

"It's nice to see that some things won't change." He smiled.

"It seems like my waistline will." She hugged him to her.

"If we're really lucky." His fondest wish came out as a whisper. Lois froze and he felt her heart start to beat in double time.

_Wrong thing to say, Clark._

"Close the door." Her answering whisper was urgent as she pushed him back and turned toward the window. "Please."

_Was she changing her mind? _

"It's bad enough that your mom is down the hall." She sounded nervous and frustrated. "And I'd rather she not know you're up here."

"I thought we weren't-" He closed the door quietly. "I thought you weren't-"

_That's good; you can't even string a coherent sentence together._

"We aren't because I'm not." Lois clarified as he walked to where she was standing. "And considering that we're not alone, it would be too awkward, if I _were_ ready."

"So if we aren't going to make love, then what _are_ we going to do?" His face burned at the idea of it.

She sighed and turned around, taking his face in her hands. "Clark Kent, what part of preliminaries do you _not_ understand?"

"I understand perfectly." Was she really prepared for how this could go? Was _he_? "But do _you_? Preliminaries are just that, Lois; preliminaries and I don't think it's fair to either one of us to start something we aren't ready to finish."

"Clark." She protested, but he shook his head.

'_Please let me finish.' _He pleaded with her silently.

"What happens if we _do_ go through with it and have regrets for not waiting?" He grasped her arms gently and caught her eye. "Lois, I don't want this to happen because we're tired and frustrated and I really don't want it to happen with my mother down the hall. I want it to happen because the time is right and we both know that it's what we want."

She nodded reluctantly and sighed again. "You're right."

That surprised him. "I am?"

"Twice in one day, go figure." She raised an amused eyebrow at him before her expression sobered. "Would it be too much to ask you to stay with me? I promise that I'll be good and I won't try anything funny to change your mind. I just know that I won't be able to sleep in this house tonight if you're not with me."

Clark wasn't sure her request was such a good idea but the fact of the matter was, he wasn't going to be able to sleep either and he agreed. "Okay."

"Okay." She answered and looked all at once nervous and relieved. And as had become their habit, Lois got in first and Clark followed.

He wasn't sure why it had happened that way in the first place, but every night after that, they'd done the same thing.

As soon as he settled down and pulled the blankets over them, he reached for Lois and brought her against his chest. He heard a decidedly contented sigh and couldn't help but smile because he felt the same way.

She relaxed in his arms and he could feel her heart thrum against his chest before the strong beat began to slow as she fell asleep. "Smallville?"

Lois' voice was faint and Clark smiled. "What?"

"Thanks for being you."

He laughed softly, pressed a kiss to her hair and closed his eyes as sleep began to claim him, too. "You're welcome."

~*~

When he woke the next morning, Lois had rolled over but Clark's arm was still around her waist. She was close against his chest and her even breathing told him that she was still asleep. It was still early, but he knew from the smell of fresh coffee brewing that his mother was already up.

She'd told him once that she'd never gotten out of the habit of rising early since she'd been living in Washington in part because it helped her feel closer to Dad.

He wasn't sure what made him do it, but the strong aroma of the coffee got him to look over his shoulder and, sure enough, his bedroom door had been opened. Mom had probably come looking for him when she saw that he wasn't on the couch, so she'd obviously found them together.

He knew she probably had a million questions about what had happened since they'd talked on the phone, but would never ask. And since Clark had never kept secrets from his parents, he didn't want to keep this from her.

So as carefully as he could, Clark got his arms from around Lois and kissed her cheek softly before he slipped out of bed, making sure not to let the cold reach her.

He brushed a hand through his sleep rumpled hair as he walked out of his room, closing the door behind him.

It was odd to see the house alive when he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen; he'd never really gotten used to coming downstairs in the morning with the house dark and silent. Lights were on in the living room and there was a fire going in the fireplace. He could see that his bedding had been put away and Mom was sitting on the couch.

He watched her as she looked at the fire, with a cup of coffee in her hands; it seemed as though she were deep in thought. All he knew was that he was happy to have her home.

"Good morning, Mom." He liked being able to say that.

"Good morning, honey." She sounded content. "Is Lois still sleeping?"

"Yea." He smiled. "It'll be awhile before she gets up."

"I know." She chuckled. "Your dad never could understand how she could sleep half the morning away when there was always something to do."

"I remember." Clark walked to the couch and sat down next to her. "He'd always say, 'The morning is the best time of the day and she's missing it.' So one night I convinced her to get up with us the next morning and greet the sun with a cup of coffee on the porch."

Mom laughed and took a sip from her cup. "And as I recall, after she promptly went back to bed, she didn't speak to you for about a week."

"It was music to my ears at the time." He grinned. "The house was pretty quiet for a few days and it was kind of nice."

"But I don't imagine you feel that way any more." She caught his eye with a knowing look.

"No." Clark admitted with a shake his head. "The sound of her voice is music to my ears now."

"That's because you're listening with your heart." She grasped his hand. "It's interesting how differently you see things when you love someone."

"I do love her, Mom." He was probably stating the obvious to her.

"I know you do." She nodded her understanding. "And it's nice to see that it's making you so happy this time."

It was an unintentional swipe at his relationship with Lana, but it was the truth.

Mom laughed again and smiled at him. "Clark Kent and Lois Lane, who knew?"

"I did." He squeezed her fingers gently. "I think I knew the moment I saw her when I went back to the _Planet_."

"It seems that you saw some other things while you were at the _Regent_, too." Her look was inquisitive. "Lois told me about a dream she had the last night you were there?"

"I had one, too." He sighed. "It happened a few months before her dream took place."

"A few months?" She looked confused.

"Lois's dream happened after she'd had the baby." He could feel warmth stir in his chest at the very idea. "The one _I _had happened while she was still pregnant."

"Was your dad in your dream, too?"

"He was." Clark nodded. "He was as real as you are. And the odd thing was, I knew it was a dream. There was never any doubt that it wasn't."

"She said the same thing and I'll tell you what I told her. I think it _was_ your dad who was showing you the possibility."

"But how, when we don't know if I can actually father any children."

"True. But Jonathan wouldn't tease you with something that could never be." She told him. "I think the one who would be able to tell you for sure would be Jor-El."

"We talked about that, Lois and I." He amended needlessly. "If things get really serious, I'll take her up there."

"Then you'd better plan on taking that trip soon." Mom smiled at him. "Because this _is_ serious. Clark, I've never seen you as happy or content with a girl as I've seen you with Lois. And I've never seen her as happy or content as she is with you. I don't think things can get much more serious."

_Yes they could._

And with the mind reading power that only a mother has, she contradicted him. "You know what I mean. Should I ask if you've done more than sleep together?"

"We haven't."

"And should I ask _why_ you're sleeping together?" The question was gentle. "It seems a bit of a leap to go from being unsure about each other to sharing a bed."

"Lois was worried that our cover as newlyweds would be blown if someone came in and saw me sleeping on the couch, so I compromised and slept on the floor next to the bed the first night we were there."

"You forgot the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, didn't you?" She sounded amused, _so far so good_.

"That's what _she_ said." Clark replied. "Her idea was that because the bed was so big, we could each take a side and it wouldn't be a big deal."

"But-" She always _did_ have a way of getting to the heart of the matter.

"But when we woke up the second morning, we were together." He shrugged. "And it was like that every morning after."

Mom nodded thoughtfully and kept a hold of his hand. "There's always been a dynamic with the two of you that you have to touch each other."

_Really? _

"It's been that way ever since Lois came to Smallville." She explained. "She was always punching you in the arm, but you never seemed to hesitate to grab _hers _or push her around. And the better that you got to know each other, those pushes and punches became touches.

"And what your dad and I always thought was interesting was that you weren't even aware of it. It became part of how you dealt with each other and how you cared about each other."

"Mom?" Clark knew that if he thought about it he'd know how right his mother was, it wasn't something he'd ever been conscious of.

"I told Lois this yesterday. You and she are much more alike than you think you are and it was those similarities that drew you to each other."

"I couldn't stand her." He wrinkled his nose at the memory of what his seventeen-year-old self thought of her.

"Yes, I know." She laughed softly. "Bossy, rude and stuck up is how I remember you describing her. But your relationship with Lois has always been open and honest and you've never been afraid to say what you think with her because you know she can take it. And I think it's fair to say she's been that way with you, too.

"With Chloe and Lana, you always seemed to hold them at arms length and measured what you said before you'd say it, because you didn't want to hurt them. Or at least have them misunderstand what you were trying to say."

"Until I told Lois about the Blur, I really _wasn't_ that open and honest with her."

"You know what I mean." His mother shook her head, not allowing him to shoulder the blame. "Clark, even before you became friends, you were always able to relax around her and have a little bit of fun. You have the same dry humor that Jonathan did and it seems that Lois was the only one who could bring that out in you."

"She still can." He smiled. "She brings out the sarcasm, too."

"I'm not surprised. And when the time is right, she'll probably bring out a passion in you that you didn't know you had."

"Mom!" She already had, _sort of._

"My point in saying that-" She set her cup down on the coffee table.

"To embarrass me?" Clark felt his face warm and he wasn't sure if it _was_ embarrassment or anticipation.

"My point in saying that-" She tightened her hold on his hand, which had always been her signal for him to listen. "is to tell you that Lois has always had the singular ability to bring out emotions in you that no one else could. She also has the ability to make you feel human."

"You and Lois are the only women I know who can do that." He kissed his mother's cheek. "Knowing that I wasn't from Earth, even when I didn't, you never treated me as anything more than your son."

"That's because from the moment we found you, you _were_ ours. And the more we found out about you, the more we knew we needed to protect you because that's what parents do. They protect their children." She smiled at him. "When it comes time for you and Lois to become parents, you'll realize that, too."

"Mom."

"Don't 'Mom' me, Clark." She shook her head. "It took you and Lois all this time to find each other and I don't see either one of you going anywhere."

"We want to take things slow."

"Oh, honey, I think you're way past going slow." His mother laughed and held onto his hand. "If you're in a place where you can't sleep without her, then you need to figure out what you're going to do."

"We've both agreed we're not ready for that." Clark told her and couldn't believe he was discussing a future intimate relationship with Lois, with his mother.

"But if you keep sharing a bed, what you're not ready for _is_ inevitable. You don't need _me_ to tell you that."

"I know." He nodded. "But once she goes back to the _Talon_, it won't be an issue."

"Sweetheart-" Mom took him by the chin and her look was as serious as he'd ever seen. "You've slept in the same bed with her, with the woman you love. And you couldn't spend one night with her in the same house without going to her; it's an issue."

"Are you saying we can't-"

She chucked him under his chin firmly and frowned. "I'm saying no such thing because you're a grown man now and it's not my place. What I _am_ saying is that once two people have shared that kind of intimacy, it won't be as easy as you think to sleep apart now. I just want you to think about that."

"I can't seem to think about anything else." He took her hand and held them both in his.

"And that my softhearted son, is what is called a consequence." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before she stood up. She then picked up her coffee cup and smiled at him. "Lois is such a sweet girl, though she'd be embarrassed if she heard me say that and the smile she's put on your face makes me happier than I can tell you. I think your idea of taking things slow is a good one, but with what's happened it's going to be more difficult now."

"I know."

"I just want you to be aware of that."

"Believe me, Mom, I am." He sighed and got up from the couch. "I think I'd like some coffee now."

"You are so much like your dad." She shook her head with amusement and walked into the kitchen. "He couldn't start his day until he'd had at least one cup, either."

"Well at least _I_ only need one." He grinned. "Some people I know-"

"Clark." Mom admonished him with a chuckle. "That's enough."

"It's nice to have you home, Mom."

~*~

Lois still wasn't awake when he'd finished breakfast and gone upstairs.

He slipped into his room as quietly as he could to get his clothes and found himself standing next to the bed, watching her sleep. Mom was right; it was going to be harder than he thought, to not sleep with her.

He stepped lightly out of the room and closed the door behind him. After dressing in the bathroom, he headed back downstairs and his mother was in the kitchen, shucking corn for dinner.

He told her he was going to take care of some chores in the barn before he started plowing under the fields. He wanted to save that chore until last just to see if Lois would actually take him up on his offer to teach her how to drive a tractor.

'_Clark, I drive in Metropolis everyday. Driving a tractor will be a piece of cake compared to that.' _

'_And I've been with you when you drive in Metropolis, Lois. I don't think it's going to be as easy as you think.'_

'_We'll see about that.' _

Clark knew, though that if anyone could learn, it would be her.

He didn't think there was anything she couldn't learn, or at least take a stab at trying. Lois had the adventurous soul of someone who'd had the opportunity to see a lot of the world growing up and there didn't seem to be anything that scared her.

But if it did, she wouldn't ever let on.

He could have easily used his super speed to get through his chores that morning, but he chose not to. After talking with his mother and telling her how only she and Lois made him feel human, he decided to take things at a human pace and just be Clark Kent.

It felt odd to think of it as a luxury, but he did. It also helped remind him of what it had been like for Dad and it gave him a better appreciation of all the work that went into running a farm.

He ran through his mental checklist of things that needed to be taken care of and one by one, he checked them off. Feeding the horses and changing the hay in their stalls, _check_. Oiling the saddles and bridles, _check_. Milking and feeding the cow and changing the hay in _her_ stall, _check_. Delivering the full milk pail to his mother, _check_.

When he brought the milk in, Mom asked if he would chop some firewood before he started the plowing because she noticed they were running low when she'd taken her morning walk.

"I called my office and told them I'll be staying a couple of more days." She told him and Clark hugged her at the news. "There's nothing so pressing going on right now that I can't work from Smallville."

"That's great!" He grinned and took a breath of relief. She'd just come home and he wasn't ready for her to go back yet. "I'll chop as much as you want."

"Just use your own judgment." She shook her head. "And don't take too long. I heard Lois stirring up there earlier."

_Always the last one up. _

"So while I get her breakfast started, I'd appreciate if you'd do that for me."

"Sure thing, Mom." He nodded and then headed for the front door. As he stepped outside and closed the door behind him, he couldn't think of when his life had been more perfect.

The two women he loved most in the world were in his house, he had a job that he enjoyed and was getting better at by the day. But mostly it was because he was finally using the abilities he's been born with to help those who needed it the most.

Destiny wasn't a dirty word any more. And as long as part of his destiny included Lois, who was he to argue?

He walked over to the side of the house and gathered some logs in his arms before taking them to the old tree stump and dropping his load. The axe blade was planted firmly in the middle, waiting to be pulled out.

One by one, he set the logs down and with one swing of the blade halved them and then quartered them. It really was so simple and it was the one thing Dad never seemed to mind him taking care of.

"Like a hot knife through butter." Clark started at the sound of Lois's voice and instead of hitting the log, he sunk the axe into the tree stump and she laughed. "I think you missed one there, Smallville."

"No thanks to you." He turned around with a smile and saw her standing at the end of the porch. She had a cup of coffee in her hands and her forearms were resting on the porch rail. "Up for how long and you're already causing trouble?"

"Dad used to say that trouble was my middle name." She smiled at him.

"Well, Lois. I can't say I disagree with him."

"That's because no one disagrees with the General." Lois replied and kept smiling at him. "It's nice having your mom home."

"Did she tell you that she's staying for a couple more days?"

She gave him a happy nod and then rolled her eyes. "She's offered to start teaching me how to cook, if I'm interested."

"Are you?"

"I told her I'd think about it." She sighed. "But I guess it's only fair that I pull some of the cooking load since I foresee us having more than a few meals together."

_He liked the sound of that._

"I can help you too, if you want." Clark offered. "Mom taught me some simple meals that don't take too much preparation and are easy to remember."

"I'll think about that, too."

"Good. So have you had breakfast yet, or did you put that on hold so you could come out here and bother me?"

"What do you think?" She raised an eyebrow at him and then laughed again. "I'm all fed and caffeinated-" She drained her cup and held it up as proof. "and ready to learn."

"Okay." He stepped back and took a second swing at the half a log and quartered it. "Let me finish this up and I'll meet you by the barn."

"Deal." She turned around with a swish of her hair and walked back into the house. He liked it when she did that, something so completely girly that he wasn't sure she was aware of it. But he was pretty sure she only did it for him.

By the time he finished chopping some of the quartered logs into smaller quarters for kindling and piling all of it by the back door, Lois was standing in front of the barn. She'd pulled her hair into a ponytail and looked raring to go.

He brushed the film of sawdust off of his hands and strolled over to meet her, if for no other reason than to watch her watching him. And the look of appreciation for what she saw made him smile.

"All right, Clarkie. Let's get a move on." She smiled at him. "Apparently, I'm helping your mom with lunch, so she said my driving lesson couldn't take too long because you still have a field to plow under."

"I could teach you how to do that too, you know." He grinned.

"Yeah." She folded her arms across her chest. "You teach me how to use the plow so _you_ don't have to do it."

"That's the idea." Clark grasped her upper arms. "Because if you're going to be spending as much time out here as I hope you will, you're going to need to pull your own weight."

"I get it." She was trying so hard to be serious. "You don't want me out here because you want to be with me. You want me out here so you don't have to do all the chores."

"That's about it." _God, he wanted to kiss her. _

"And it doesn't mean anything that you can do them in a blink of an eye if you chose to." A skeptical eyebrow slowly rose in question.

"But what if I _don't_ choose to? I'm going to need some help."

"Then talk to Shelby. I think that dog of yours has freeloaded long enough." Her eyes were starting to sparkle as she fought to keep the smile off of her face.

"Says one freeloader about another." He couldn't keep it in any longer and he laughed.

"But I'm not a freeloader, Clark." Her voice softened and he knew she was up to something. "I've already paid you in ways you couldn't have imagined before last week."

_That's true. _

"But if you insist on further payment, I can do that." She slowly unfolded her arms and got them around his neck. She used that leverage to pull her body flush against his and then pushed herself up on her toes, making sure their bodies contacted in all the right places. "But only if you insist."

_Oh, he was going to insist all right._

"Well, that all depends on what kind of payment you're talking about." He slipped his arms around her waist and held her close.

"A kiss?" She brushed her mouth against his and his heart stopped.

He tried to swallow a dry knot that had formed in his throat and was having a heck of a time succeeding and he rasped. "I'll take it."

"I thought you would." She gave him the smile she seemed to reserve only for him and kissed him. And with an ease that still startled him, she coaxed his lips open with her own and deepened their kiss.

His knees started to shake terribly and a ball of need and want and tightly contained desire coiled in his abdomen as one of his hands moved down to the small of her back. He drew her against the evidence of what her kiss was doing to him and it was then that _she_ begin to shake.

He felt a trembling hand work it's way into his hair, while the other roamed as best it could over his upper back, trying to touch as much of him as it could.

But when her fingernails started to rake across the fabric of his tee shirt, he knew they had to stop. She must have realized it too because she broke their kiss and held onto him as though she were about to drown.

Her breathing was ragged and her heart was beating faster than he would have liked.

"Only you." Her warm breath whispered the words against his ear and a shiver went through him that made every nerve in his body tingle. Her head went down on his shoulder and he held her tight against him while her body relaxed and her heart beat calmed.

'_Only you.' _Those two simple words echoed in his mind and his heart because he understood that she'd given him the responsibility to safeguard her heart.

'_I can't be left behind one more time.' _That simple phrase she'd uttered just two years earlier came back to him in a rush and he knew without a doubt in his mind that he never would. To leave her behind would be to leave his own heart behind and he'd already done that once when he thought she was dead.

But Lois Lane was very much alive and it wasn't just her heart that was being safeguarded now; his was, too.

Their hearts had finally found safe haven with the one person they never expected, but it was with the one person they knew that they could trust.

Forever and for always.


	23. Just Reporting the Facts

He'd never had the ability to distract her before. But since he'd told her he loved her, he'd become very adept at doing just that.

For that particular morning, it had started with nothing more than his chopping wood. And it wasn't as though she'd never seen him split logs before. It had been one of the chores he'd always done when she'd lived with his family and she'd always given him a bad time when he seemed to struggle at times with the weight of the axe.

She knew now that he'd done it for her benefit because he _had_ to, to protect his secret.

But watching him that morning, chopping wood with the ease and fluidity of some one who had strength beyond her comprehension, it made her flush at the sight of the muscles across his back as they bunched and then flexed as he brought the single blade up and swung it down, dead center.

She'd never seen a log split so easily; not that she'd had the opportunity to watch anyone other than Smallville. But the difference between five years ago and that morning were like night and day.

He'd definitely grown up and become a six foot five hunk of reporter who was all hers.

As much as she enjoyed watching him however, and she did, Lois couldn't let the opportunity pass to give him a bad time. It was one of the things that had been an integral part of their friendship and just because they were more than friends now, there wasn't any reason to treat him any differently in that department.

But he'd paid her back for that when he distracted her again before he got her up on the tractor to teach her how to drive it.

He was a good teacher; she had to admit. And Lois couldn't help but think about how good he would be when it came time to teach his children. Because she had no doubt that he would want to pass on his love of the farm to them. He hadn't said as much, but Lois knew that he worried what might happen to his family's farm down the road.

His destiny was so much greater than spending it tilling the soil because he wanted to use his abilities to help others. And those abilities would probably be passed on to any children he might have.

But what if those same children inherited their grandfather's love of the land and wanted nothing more than to farm?

Would that be fair to them? Would it be fair to the world?

And why in the hell was she thinking about Clark's children?

_That was easy._

Lois was thinking about them because she wanted to be the mother of any children Clark would have.

She wanted to see the look on his face when she told him that they were going to have a baby. To have him with her through the whole nine months when she began to look like a beach ball and have him with her in the delivery room, coaching and coaxing her through her labor.

She wanted that more than she ever thought she would, with _any_one. And that unnerved her terribly because the thought of children wouldn't have even occurred to her if it hadn't been for her dream.

Ever since she'd wakened the last morning at the _Regent_, Lois couldn't get the picture out of her mind of holding their two-week old son. Two days later, she could still feel his weight in her arms and his warmth as she held him.

She couldn't stop thinking about their little girl, either, standing at the edge of the bed, looking very much like _her_. She'd had a touch of her father's shyness, but that could have been because she was exactly where she knew she wasn't supposed to be.

'_Gramma says I have to let you sleep. She says Sam took a long time to get here.' _

Would they actually name their children for their parents? Or would it seem too much like fulfilling a destiny?

The fact was, until a year ago Lois never would have believed that she would end up falling in love with Clark Kent. And it certainly would never have crossed her mind that she would want his children, either.

But she did, very much.

"Earth to Lois." She heard the amused voice of the very man she was thinking about and felt his fingers in her hair as he brushed it back over her shoulder. "I thought we were going to work on our story."

"We are." _Crap! _She'd been caught daydreaming. This was something that never used to happen to her until she'd fallen for _him_. And then she added. "I _am_."

"Lois, I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes and you didn't hear Mom say goodbye before she left to go into town."

"I was organizing my thoughts." She sounded defensive and knew it, even though there wasn't any reason for her to be.

"Well, from what I could see, you got a little sidetracked." He laughed softly and smoothed her hair with a soft touch. "I don't suppose it's because you were thinking about _me_?"

"And what if I was?" Her reply came out so softly that it startled her.

"Then I'd say I'm a lucky guy." He answered just as softly, his warm breath near her ear. "Wouldn't you?"

"You're a _very_ lucky guy, Smallville." She turned her head to answer and his lips were there to greet her. She felt the pull of a smile because he knew he'd surprised her and she couldn't help but smile in return.

She told Mrs. Kent that Clark had adjusted to their changing relationship much easier than she was. But when he did things like kiss her without warning, it helped in making her own adjustment that much easier.

"Clark?" She was having a hard time thinking straight as his lips moved to a spot just under her ear before he turned her toward him and began to nuzzle her neck.

No man had ever manipulated her body as easily as Clark could and it startled her to think that she really liked it when he did. He'd never been the take charge kind of guy that she'd been used to in past relationships, so to have him take charge now was a real turn on for her.

"Yes, my love." He whispered as he tracked soft kisses across her clavicles after he'd pressed her down onto the couch cushions.

_My love? _

"What?" She couldn't believe he'd said such an incredibly sweet and adorably possessive thing. But Clark seemed to take it as an objection as his lips changed direction and started a new course downward. _Please don't go down there, Smallville._

"Cupcake?" He tried another and she shook her head.

_No. _

"Muffin, poodle?" He laughed and Lois' heart started to race as he ignored her silent plea to not go where he was currently headed.

'_Don't get stage fright, Poodle. You're going to have to do this center stage in front of a packed house sooner than you think.'_

"No." She shook her head again emphatically and then whispered. "My love."

She opened her eyes to the sweetest smile and his flushed face. "You like that?"

"I _love_ that." Lois leaned up and smiled before she kissed him. "It's so, _you_."

"You are, you know." He kissed her chin and then made sure to catch her eye. "My one and only."

"I know." She nodded, putting her hands on his face. "And you're mine, too."

"And happy to be." His smile became a grin and then he sighed before he reluctantly sat up and brought Lois with him. Disappointed couldn't even begin to cover what she was feeling at the moment. "But I didn't mean to distract you. We've put this story off as long as we could and I'd really like to get it done so we don't have it hanging over our heads."

"Okay." She agreed. "But just so you know, we're not expected at the _Planet_ tomorrow."

Clark's look of surprise made her smile. "I called Randall while you were still out plowing and told him that your mother was home for a few days. I said that it was going to take us an extra day to pull the story together, so we could spend some time with her."

"Tess isn't going to like that. We _were_ supposed to have the story on her desk in the morning." Clark reminded her.

"Yea, well Randall wasn't too happy that Tess pulled us off of our regular assignments, either." She countered. "By the time he got wind of what had happened, we were already at the _Regent_ and he was down two reporters for the week."

"Will you still get to do your story about the mayor?"

"He's holding it for me because he didn't trust Tess not to." She smiled. "I know we butt heads a lot, but Randall's okay."

"In spite of what you might think, he does like you, Lois." He took her hand in his. "He thinks you're a good reporter with a lot of promise."

"He told you that?" She couldn't believe it; her City Editor thought _that_?

"Not exactly." He shook his head and a telltale blush stained his cheeks. "I-"

He couldn't say it.

"Are you telling me that the notoriously honest Clark Kent was eavesdropping?" Her farm boy was full of surprises.

"Not on purpose." He shook his head with a frown because it was obviously something that bothered him. "Tess called me up to her office and while I was waiting, I heard her talking to Randall. Lois, he was defending you to her because she thinks you're all flash and no substance. But he set her straight."

"And I don't suppose that her door was open when you heard all that?"

"No." He sighed and shook his head again. "I wasn't listening until I heard Tess mention your name and then I couldn't seem to help it."

"You're always looking out for me, aren't you, Smallville?"

"Always, Lois." He nodded. "And I know you look out for me, too."

"With that barracuda for a boss, _some_one has to." It was her turn to sigh.

"You don't help yourself when you antagonize her." He was telling her the obvious and he knew it.

"I know." She smiled at him. "But that's half the fun."

"You have a strange idea of what's fun." Clark smiled back. "But that's what makes you, _you_, Lois."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?" She leaned in toward him and he grasped her upper arms to pull her toward him.

"What do _you_ think?"

"I think we have a story to work on." Her eyes closed as she felt his warm breath so close.

"Really? I was thinking about something else." She heard the amusement in his voice as he moved in to close the distance and then froze when the front doorbell chimed.

_Seriously? _

"Don't move." He pressed a kiss to her lips and stood up. "Mom said Mrs. Carmichael might be stopping by."

"We really should do something nice for them." Lois told him as he walked to the door. "After all, they did take care of this place for you for a whole week."

"That's very neighborly of you, Lois." He turned for a moment and smiled at her. "In fact, it's downright domestic."

"Answer the door." She tried to give him her best exasperated look, but knew she'd failed when he laughed before he continued to the hallway and opened the front door.

It was Mrs. Carmichael.

Lois had taken an immediate liking to her when she'd come to the farm the Friday evening before she and Clark were leaving for Metropolis.

She had the same warmth and openness that Mrs. Kent did and had been so reassuring to Clark that everything would be fine in his absence.

"Hi, honey." She smiled and Lois couldn't help but smile herself. She then felt a laugh bubble up in her throat because it seemed that every older woman that Clark came into contact with called him 'honey'.

"I'm just stopping by to drop off some eggs for your mother. It's a thank you for the fresh cream she brought over this morning so I could finish getting my stroganoff ready for dinner." And she laughed. "You'd think having a cow would give me all the cream I need, but there never seems to be enough when I want to cook."

"Don't feel too bad, Mrs. Carmichael." Lois stood up and walked to the door. "The chickens can't seem to lay enough eggs to keep Smallville here, fed." She patted his stomach to illustrate.

"Lois." Clark sighed and she knew it was for his neighbor's benefit, but all she did was laugh. "She doesn't need to know that."

"Well now that you're married, it's going to be _your_ job to make sure that he's well fed."

_Married?_

"I think the idea of eloping was very romantic, Clark." She patted his arm. "Less fuss that way."

"Eloped?" Lois would have laughed at the sound of his voice cracking if she hadn't been so stunned. "Mrs. Carmichael, we-"

"I'm sure your mother understood your reasons for wanting to do it so quietly." She took Lois' left hand and looked at the rings she was wearing; the rings she forgot to take off the night before. "These are very lovely. They really suit you."

"Mrs. Carmichael-" Clark started again, but the basket of eggs was pushed into his hands.

"An empty house shouldn't be wasted." She shook her head and backed up. "So before your mother comes home, I'll let you alone."

"Mrs. Carmichael-" It was Lois' turn to try and get her attention but she'd already started down the walk.

"She thinks we're married." Lois glanced up at him, her face burning with a blush as she watched the Kent's neighbor start up her truck and turn around to head for the main road.

"We probably shouldn't have been so mysterious about it when we talked to the Carmichael's." Clark's own face was flushed. "I just figured the fewer people that knew we were working on a story-"

"I forgot I was still wearing them." She admitted. "I just forgot."

"So did I." He reached for her hand and held it. "I'm sorry, Lois."

"Sorry for what?" Lois was a little confused. "It's not like you set any of that up. Or did you?"

"Lois." He shook his head and she laughed with a tug on his hand.

"Lighten up, Smallville. We were gone for a week and the first time she sees us we're wearing rings. She wasn't exactly reaching."

"I tried to explain." He sighed and set the egg basket down on the hall table.

"And in case you hadn't noticed, we embarrassed her because she thought she was intruding on us." She tugged on his hand again. "So I think it's time we take these off and you can put your parents rings away for safe keeping."

He nodded his agreement and pulled her toward the stairs.

"Where are we going?"

"To put the rings away." He told her and started upstairs.

"And you need me to help you with that?" She asked as she followed him.

"I need Mom's engagement ring and at the moment, it's still on your finger." He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Or did you forget again?"

"Very funny." She knew he must have been laughing. "Why didn't you just ask me to give it back?"

"If I had, I couldn't have gotten you upstairs." And then she heard it. A soft, amused laugh. "Could I?"

"And that's the only reason you wanted me up here?" She wondered as they reached the second floor and continued on to his room. "To take your mother's ring back?"

"That's all _I_ wanted, Lois. Unless there was something else you had in mind." He laughed again. "An empty house, you know."

"But we don't know for how long, do we?" She volleyed back. "And I'm pretty sure you don't want your mother to find us in a situation."

"Any more than you do."

"True." She agreed with a nod and Clark let go of her hand as he walked into his room, with Lois right behind him.

She lifted her left hand and took one last look at the rings she was wearing before she took his mother's engagement ring off and handed it to him. He opened the keepsake box on his dresser and placed it inside while she took off the wedding ring and set it down on the dresser.

She watched as he slowly pulled his father's wedding ring off and put it next to the engagement ring. He paused for a moment and undid the watch he was wearing; his dads' watch.

He put it away as well and closed the box.

"I guess that's it." He remarked softly as he picked up his own watch and fastened it to his wrist. He then collected the two rings that had been provided as part of their cover and slipped then into the envelope that he'd left next to the box.

"It's after midnight, Clark." She sighed and reached for his hand, something that was beginning to become second nature. "And our coach has turned back into a pumpkin."

"We may not have our coach anymore, Lois." He grasped her fingers and gave them a tug to get her to look at him. And when she did, he was smiling. "But since this Prince Charming has already found his Cinderella, there's no need for a glass slipper."

"I wouldn't wear it anyway." She smiled back. "I mean really, how comfortable can glass slippers be anyway? And then if you take one wrong step, they can break. Not exactly the most practical footwear I've ever heard of."

He was laughing by that point and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. "Only you, Lois."

"You want to know something, though?" She leaned back just enough to see his face. "You're the only prince I'd wear them for."

"And you're the only Cinderella I'd want to wear them." He pressed his lips to hers. "But do _you_ want to know what the great thing about us is? We're no fairy tale and we don't need a fairy godmother or glass slippers to know how right we are for each other."

"All we needed was a cornfield and your parents." She brushed her fingers against the soft cotton of his tee shirt and the muscles of his back quivered under her touch.

"And Shelby." He added with a grin as his face flushed.

"Yea." Lois shook her head. "About that."

"Come on, Lois. This place wouldn't be the same without Shelby making you sneeze and you know it."

"This place wouldn't be the same without _you_." She shook her head again. "I found that out when you went AWOL."

"It won't happen again, I promise." He pulled her against his chest and he'd started to tremble. "I'll never leave you behind."

"Darn right, you wont." She held him close and could hear the rapid rush of his heartbeat under her ear. It was such a reassuring sound that had lulled her to sleep the previous night. The question was, how was she going to get to sleep _that_ night?

She couldn't exactly ask him to come back to the _Talon_ with her, _could she_?

Well, not that she couldn't because she could and really wanted to, but Clark was right about waiting for the right time. She'd already told him that she wanted their first time to be at the farm and being alone at the _Talon_ presented too great a temptation.

Lois started when she heard the front door open and Clark chuckled. "Why so nervous, Lois?"

"I'm not nervous, Small-"

She didn't get to finish when the sound of Mrs. Kent's voice floated up the stairs. "Clark, Lois, are you here?"

"We're up here, Mom." He called back.

"I need you to come downstairs." Lois looked up at Clark and his look of worry mirrored what she was feeling. The normally unflappable Mrs. Kent sounded really agitated. "We have a situation."

_Situation? _She looked at Clark for a possible answer, but all he did was shrug before he let her go. "Let's go find out."

He slipped a hand down her arm to grasp her hand in his and he led her out of the room and down the stairs to the front hallway. When they got to the bottom of the staircase she saw Mrs. Kent pacing in the living room.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Clark stood in the threshold of the living room doorway with Lois' hand still in his.

"I ran into Lydia on my way back from town." The pensive look on her face was a bad sign. "She said that she wanted to be the first to congratulate me on my son's marriage."

She and Clark looked at each other before they looked back at his mother.

"I didn't understand what she meant at first, but then I realized that you were probably still wearing the rings."

"We forgot to take them off when we got home yesterday." Clark nodded his confirmation. "She thinks we eloped."

"A fair assumption, I'd say." She sighed. "I tried to explain to her that you weren't really married, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise."

"We tried to tell her, too." Lois spoke up. "But she wouldn't listen to us either."

"That's Lydia." Mrs. Kent smiled and her gaze touched on their bare fingers. "I see you took the rings off."

She and Clark looked at each other again and he nodded.

"It's very easy to get used to them, isn't it?" She smiled. "And two of the rings you were wearing had a lot of significance to me and to Jonathan, so that made it a little more personal."

"I told you it would." Lois chided him softly and Clark's mother laughed.

"What's done is done." She shook her head and stepped over to the coffee table, where she'd set down a couple of grocery bags and picked them up. "Lois, are you going to stay for dinner?"

"I really should be getting home." Lois didn't particularly _want_ to leave, but she thought some space wouldn't be a bad thing. It would give her some time to start sorting out what had happened over the last week.

"But we're not working tomorrow." Clark pointed out to her. "So it's not like you have to be up early."

"Clark." His mother's voice held a scolding tone. "It's Lois's decision."

"Smallville, it's not like we won't see each other tomorrow. Come on over in the morning when you get done around here and we'll finish the story."

"I guess." Lois could see he didn't like the idea. She didn't like the idea too much herself, but what else were they supposed to do?

"If you change your mind, honey you know you're welcome to stay." Mrs. Kent turned for the kitchen when the phone began to ring. She set the bags down on the island and reached for the receiver. "Hello?"

"So do you want to leave now or can you stay a little longer?" She'd never seen him look quite so lost and she squeezed his fingers.

"I think I should probably leave now." She answered gently. "If I put this off, it'll just be harder."

"So put it off."

"Clark." She shook her head and he sighed before reluctantly nodding his agreement.

"I'll go get your suitcases." He turned for the stairs, but Lois stopped him.

"You stay here; I'll get them." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I'm only a phone call away, Clark."

"I know." The pensive furrow in his brow appeared and he nodded again. "I know."

"You are sweet." She put a hand on his cheek before she slipped her other hand out of his and walked to the hallway, stopping for a moment after she'd started up the stairs. "And you're lucky to have me."

"Don't I know it." A soft smile broke across his face and she sighed with a contentment she'd only ever felt with him. It was still such a new experience for her, wanting to be with someone so much and his wanting to be with her just as much.

"Lois, don't go upstairs yet." Mrs. Kent called her from the kitchen. "Things just got a little more complicated."

"Complicated?" She reversed course and met Clark back in the living room.

"That was Lydia Carmichael." She told them, her face flushed. "She was so pleased to hear that you got married that she wants to have a small reception for you. Tomorrow night."

"A reception?" Lois could hear the panic in Clark's voice.

"But we can't have a reception; we're not married." She understood his panic because she was feeling it too.

"Then what _are_ you?" A familiar gruff voice came from the front porch and Lois had to squelch the urge to roll her eyes.

She turned toward the front door and saw the imposing figure of her father in his Class A uniform, his cap tucked under his arm. And from the look on his face, he was not happy. "I received a very interesting call from your cousin a few days ago. She informed me that my oldest daughter was staying in a hotel room with a young man I didn't even know she was dating."

_Chloe._

"And she obviously left out the small detail that Clark and I were there on assignment." She and Chloe were going to have a cousin to cousin chat when she got home.

"General Lane, I'm Martha Kent." Mrs. Kent moved smoothly to the front door and held out her hand. "Please come in."

"Martha Kent? Sam Lane." He glanced at Clark and then back at his mother. "Are you the same Martha Kent who represents Kansas in the United States Senate?"

"The very one." She waited until Lois' father shook her hand, but he wouldn't move from the porch until she made the request again. "Please, come in."

He finally stepped inside and she closed the door.

"It's been a few years since I was here last." He looked around the house and nodded. "I can see why Lois likes being here, you have a nice place."

"Jonathan took a lot of pride in this farm." Mrs. Kent nodded her thanks. "And Clark has done a wonderful job keeping things going with his father gone."

"I was sorry to hear about his passing. Lo thought the world of him."

"And Jonathan thought the world of her, too." She answered with a smile. "I'm making a fresh pot of coffee, would you like some?"

"I'd appreciate that; it was a long flight." He nodded as he hung his cap on the coat rack and walked into the house. "And in the meantime, maybe my daughter can explain to me just what's going on?"

"There's nothing going on, Dad." Lois led him into the living room and motioned for him to sit, which he did and then she sat down next to him. "Our editor sent us undercover as a newlywed couple to do a review on a hotel in Metropolis."

"That doesn't sound like your kind of assignment."

"Trust me, it wasn't." Lois assured him. "But it was that or get transferred to the Lifestyles section."

"And because you didn't want that, you were the good little soldier and did your duty." He cracked a smile and Lois was floored, her dad actually made a joke.

_The_ _General_ made a joke.

"Just like you taught me." Lois found herself smiling back at her father. He didn't seem to know how to react and nodded.

"So what's all this about a reception?" He asked as Clark's mother walked into the living room carrying a tray with mugs, spoons, a cream pitcher and a sugar bowl on it. Dad stood up and reached for it. "Let me help you with that."

"The coffee isn't quite ready yet." Mrs. Kent nodded her thanks and sat down on the arm of the sofa, behind Lois. Whether she meant it or not, Lois felt the older woman's support. "The kids forgot to take off the rings they were wearing when they got home last night. So when a neighbor of ours stopped by earlier, she saw the rings and made the logical assumption that they'd eloped."

"Oh." His head went down and his shoulders started to shake as he set the tray down on the coffee table.

_He was laughing. _

"Well hell, Lo." And then he did laugh. "You do manage to get yourself in situations, don't you?"

"But at least she isn't in it alone." Mrs. Kent put a hand on her shoulder. "My son is right in there with her."

"So why hasn't anyone told her you're not married?"

"Lydia can dominate a conversation sometimes and we can't seem to string two words together so we can explain it to her." Clark's mother sighed. "I just don't know how to stop her from going to all the trouble."

"Do you have a number I can call?"

"Dad." That's all Mrs. Carmichael needed, Sam Lane on her case.

"Don't look like that Lois, you forget that I have to deal with those damn pencil pushers at the Pentagon every day. If I can be diplomatic with them, I can be just as diplomatic with Senator Kent's neighbor."

"Martha, please." She insisted and Dad agreed.

"Only if you call me Sam."

"Fair enough."

"So why don't you take me to a phone and I'll straighten this out." He stood up and he cracked another smile at Lois then chucked her under the chin. "Don't look so worried, Pumpkin. I can do this."

_Pumpkin. _Now she understood why that nickname had sounded so familiar. Her own father had called her that when she was Ellen's age.

He followed Mrs. Kent into the kitchen, while Lois stayed behind.

"Pumpkin." Clark's soft voice reminded her needlessly.

"I know." She nodded and stood up. "I'd forgotten about that."

"It's kind of nice to think we would call a daughter of ours something your dad called you." He smiled as he came around to take her hand and walked with her to the kitchen.

They met his mother by the island as her father was already talking to the Kent's neighbor. She'd never heard her father sound so patient and wondered if he was finally mellowing out.

"I think what you want to do for the kids is very thoughtful, but I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding. They aren't married." It was quiet for a moment. "No, ma'am. They were in Metropolis on a story assignment for their newspaper." It was quiet again. "Quite sure. The rings you saw them wearing were part of their cover, they'd just forgotten to take them off."

It was too quiet as Lois's father nodded. "Don't worry about this, I'll tell them." He nodded again and then laughed. "Nonsense. It was an honest mistake, goodbye now." And he hung up the phone. "She's a very nice lady."

"What's going on?" Lois was more than curious to know what Mrs. Carmichael had said.

"She feels terrible for putting you, in her words, 'a potentially embarrassing situation'. She also said not to worry about anything because she hadn't actually made any calls."

"Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Lo." He raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. "She sure is a talker, though; she reminds me of you. It's hard to get a word in edgewise with _you_ sometimes."

"That's because I take after you." She smiled back.

"That you do." He nodded his head. "Well, since the mystery seems to be cleared up, I'm going to get moving."

"You're not going back to Washington, are you? You just got here."

"Not Washington, Lo. I've got a room at the Smallville Inn and if you think you can stand my company for a couple of days--"

_Really?_

"I'd like that." It surprised her to realize that she really meant it.

"You would?" Her father seemed just as surprised.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other, so why not?"

"Don't sound so enthusiastic." He responded, with an amused shake of his head. "It's nice to see you haven't changed."

"Come on, Dad. I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

"True." He agreed. "Well, I'll get out of your hair now. I dropped my gear on the way out here and I'd like to settle in."

"Would you like to come back for dinner?" Mrs. Kent asked him and Lois glanced at Clark, who had a smile on his face. "There'll be plenty for all of us."

'_You're staying for dinner.' _

'_It looks that way, Smallville.'_

"Lois, why don't you walk your father out to his car." Clark's mother suggested. "And then you and Clark can do some more work on your story before dinner."

"And then maybe I can talk her into staying." Clark was still smiling.

"Or maybe you can walk me out to my car when it's time for me to go home."

"Or I can do that."

"Or I can walk myself out and let these two get back to work." Lois's father had been watching them like someone would watch a tennis match. The look on his face was a little perplexed and she knew a conversation about her relationship with Clark wasn't that far into the future. "You're a hell of a reporter, Lo."

_He'd been reading her stories? _

"Thanks, Dad. But how-"

"I have _The Daily Planet_ website book marked on my computer, if you really want to know." He seemed a little embarrassed at having revealed that piece of information. "So that way, I'm able to read everything you've written. Though I don't think I want to know _how_ you got some of those stories. Trouble always has a way of finding you."

"And I do my best to keep it from finding _her_." Clark gave her a stern look and all Lois wanted to do was laugh because between him and the Blur, she was covered.

"I appreciate that, son. I really do." Dad stuck out his hand and after Clark took it, they shook. "You strike me as the one fellow who can do that."

"Let me walk you out." Mrs. Kent offered and followed her father to the door.

"Well this turned out to be an interesting day." Lois folded her arms across her chest. "And it's going to end with us having dinner with our parents."

"You have a problem with that?" He asked with a smile. "If your dad made a point of coming out here just to see what our situation was, I don't think it's going to be the last time."

"If it hadn't been for Chloe, he wouldn't have felt the need to _make_ the point." That really bugged her. As much as she loved her baby cousin, she'd had no business calling the General.

"But he did, Lois." He told her. "And he's here because he's your father and he loves you."

"I know." She conceded because she knew it was true. Dad may not have been the greatest at showing her, but she'd always known it. Even when he'd ream her for one infraction or another and as much as she rebelled because of it, she always knew deep down it was only because he was trying to protect her.

"Okay. So what do you say about getting some work done before Mom asks us to help her with dinner?" He reached for her hand and pulled her toward the living room.

They sat down in front of Lois's laptop and as her fingers hovered over the keyboard she glanced at the man sitting next to her. His attention was on the open document where they'd continued to compile the information they'd gathered and he was smiling.

"What's the smile for?" She asked him and he took one of her hands.

"The smile is for the fact that I have a beautiful woman sitting next to me who loves me. A woman who knows everything about me and _still_ loves me and still calls me Smallville."

"Well, someone has to keep you humble." She laughed knowing that Clark Kent would never have trouble remaining humble. He wouldn't be her Smallville if he couldn't.

"I suppose you're applying for the job?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Only because I know you don't want anyone else." She leaned in close to him. "Do you?"

"Only you, Lois." He kissed her softly. "Only you."


	24. A Father's Regret

As he sat on the front porch, after finishing his evening cigar, Sam Lane looked around the Kent property and could see why Lois loved being there so much.

For a fellow who was accustomed to the well-ordered chaos of army bases, the quiet of the Kent's farm was a little disconcerting. He was used to the olive drab of uniforms and fatigues, of 'Yes, Sir' and 'No, Sir' and the sound of Taps being played at sunset.

All he could hear as he sat outside the house was the sound of a cow's moo coming from the barn, the occasional whiney from the horses and the clucking of chickens coming from the coop.

Those were sounds he wasn't accustomed to and they unnerved him.

It was the sound of permanence that he'd never really had because the army moved him around so much. It hadn't been so bad when Ellen was alive because she'd had the singular ability to make any military housing they'd lived in a home. And when the girls came along, the three of them made his life complete.

But after she died, he was left with two little girls that he would give his life for and who were completely dependent on him.

And he had no idea what to do with them.

If they'd been boys, he would have known exactly what to do. But his two precious girls, who looked so much like their mother, were a constant reminder to him that his beloved wife wasn't there any longer.

So for better or for worse, and as time proved out he picked the worse, he put his little Lo in charge of caring for Lucy. It wasn't as though she couldn't handle the responsibility because she proved to him that she could.

But to put so much on her young shoulders when she was still a child herself was, in hindsight, unfair to her.

Lois should have had the chance to be a kid the way Lucy had been, but like his good little soldier, she did her duty. And though he'd never told her the way he should have, he _was_ proud not only of the way she'd taken care of her sister, but stood up to him when she thought he was wrong.

She'd never hesitated to stand toe to toe with him in an argument and she'd never backed down. She was so much like him and he'd often worried that her stubborn streak, her independence would come across to people as being abrasive.

But she had a softness underneath her tough exterior that reminded him so much of Ellen and he knew it would take the right man to get her to show it.

He thought initially, that it would be the Queen boy. He'd never heard Lois talk about any of her boyfriends the way she talked about him, not that she'd ever been that forthcoming about her relationships.

That's why he stood out in Sam's mind. Lois actually talked to him about the young CEO who had caught her interest and seemed to treat her the way she deserved to be treated. So it wasn't lost on him when she suddenly clammed up and stopped talking about the young man.

He'd been sorely tempted at the time to call his niece and ask her what had happened. But he knew that if Lois wanted him to know, she would have told him. It wasn't until a year later when she mentioned he'd resurfaced in Metropolis, that she told him what had happened.

To say that he was angry at what Oliver Queen had put his little girl through wouldn't begin to cover what he felt. But it eased his mind somewhat to hear that Clark Kent had been there to help her through the final breakup.

He'd always remembered the somewhat shy and well-mannered young man he'd met the only other time he'd come out to the Kent farm to check up on her. And from that one meeting, Clark and Lois struck him as very much oil and water.

Now admittedly they hadn't had the chance to get to know each other yet, but Sam could see that young Kent wasn't used to someone as straightforward as Lois. In the years since, though he could sense that they'd became good friends because of the way Lois would talk about him.

In typical fashion, his daughter never directly told him what exactly had changed between them to forge such a strong friendship. All she'd told him was, _"He gets me." _But it was all he needed to know.

Lois had always held people at arms length, for the exception of her sister and her cousin. She'd learned early on not to get attached to people because she never knew when he going to be transferred and they'd have to pull up stakes and move on to his next post.

She always seemed to take the constant moving in stride, except for one. He'd been stationed at Fort Avilsen when she was about thirteen and she'd become friends with another Army brat named Wes Keenan. He'd invited her to the spring dance at the Fort Avilsen Officer's Club and Lois wanted to accept. But Sam was being transferred to Fort Dix and they had to be in New Jersey before the week was out.

Lois had begged him to wait so she could go and if he'd had any say in the matter, he would have. But the Army didn't care what a General's daughter wanted, so he had to tell her no and then they were gone.

She didn't talk to him for a couple of weeks after that and he considered himself lucky that it wasn't longer. But even when she started talking to him again, it was never quite the same. He'd disappointed her again and as much as the father in him was sorry he couldn't give her what she wanted, the soldier in him knew it was part and parcel to being in the service.

He knew when he enlisted that he'd become part of a cause bigger than himself and what _he_ wanted wasn't as important as what his country needed. It was a choice he'd willingly made and he'd never regretted it, with the exception of three things. His wife and his daughters.

Ellen had come to understand that the Army would have to come before her when she finally accepted his marriage proposal and that was after she'd turned him down, twice. She'd explained to him the night before their wedding that she wasn't just marrying him, she was marrying the Army and she hadn't been sure she wanted to share him.

But because the Army was so much of who he was, of who he wanted to be, she chose to marry him and his life had been the richer for it.

And it was that loss of understanding that had left his life the poorer for it after she died. El had had a way with Lois, making each new transfer a new adventure. She'd had the time and patience to get the girls prepared, so each new posting went smoothly.

But after it had fallen on him to move his family, get the girls in school and himself settled into his new duties, it had been a nightmare. Lucy cried for her mother, Lois sulked and he would invariably lose his temper.

It wasn't how he wanted things to turn out with them, but he didn't have a mother's touch and didn't know how to help them.

When he made the decision to send Lucy away to boarding school, he thought he was doing the right thing. She was unhappy with the constant moving and her schooling was suffering because of it.

Some well-meaning wives on the base suggested to him that she might succeed in a different environment. And while he didn't want to separate Lucy from her sister, he felt it was best.

It was another strike against him because not only did Lois resent him for sending her sister away, she resented him because she thought he was choosing Lucy over her.

He could have sent them together if he'd really wanted to. But it seemed the older Lois got, she seemed to thrive on the constant moves and her schoolwork never suffered.

She seemed to take his comment about being his good little soldier to heart and made the most of their nomadic life. But after the Fort Dix transfer, his good little soldier began to rebel.

He'd caught her smoking on more than one occasion and she'd broken into his liquor cabinet at least one time that he knew of. She was constantly breaking curfew and when he'd ground her, she'd just sneak out of the house.

But somehow, despite her dropping grades and a bad case of truancy during her final semester, something she was sure he didn't know about, she managed to graduate from high school.

She was accepted to Metropolis University and was all set to start her freshman year when they got the unexpected news that Chloe had been killed in an explosion.

At first, Lois refused to believe it. But once she'd come to terms with it she was determined to find out why her cousin had died.

And so began her life in Smallville Kansas.

And there he was, sitting on the front porch of the very home of the two people who had welcomed his daughter to stay with them and treated her with caring and kindness.

With the Kent's, she'd finally gotten the chance to set down roots, to find the kind of permanence that he'd never been able to give her and she'd not only thrived, but she'd blossomed.

Young Kent had had something to do with _that_ and Sam would never be able to thank him enough. Since he arrived earlier that day, he'd seen glimpses of his little girl who'd always had a smile on her face and looked genuinely happy.

It had just taken the right man.

He stood up, startling the Kent's dog who'd taken up a position near his feet. _Shelby_.

Lois had told him how she'd found the golden retriever, well, how she'd _hit_ him and then the Kent's had adopted him. She'd never admit it, but Sam suspected that she loved the big fur ball in spite of her allergies. And because of that she was willing to put up with the itchy nose and sneezing just so she could spend some time with him.

He shook his head and found himself smiling. What was it about this place that had him so introspective? Sam Lane was a fellow who always looked forward, not back. But maybe he was looking back because the young woman who he had the privilege of calling his daughter had turned out so well and it wasn't because of him.

It was because of her mother, the Kent's and Clark.

They'd given her the unconditional support she needed and the boundless caring that he couldn't seem to give her himself. And it wasn't because he didn't love her or want the very best for her.

He'd just never learned how to be the father his daughters needed and while he should have been envious that Jonathan Kent had been a father figure to Lois, he couldn't.

When he stepped toward the front door, Shelby was right there with him. The dog pressed his wet nose against Sam's fingers and he looked down into the big eyes of a dog that seemed to have taken to him.

'_Pet me.' _He seemed to say, so Sam did and it seemed to satisfy the dog who continued to the front door and sat down, waiting.

He opened the door and Shelby trotted inside heading for the living room and the warm fire that had been laid earlier in the fireplace. He liked that idea himself because it had gotten colder since he'd stepped outside.

But he stopped short in the doorway of the living room when he found Clark and Lois in front of the fire and in each other's arms. He'd seen Lois kiss boyfriends before, but he'd never seen her in such a passionate embrace with any of them.

_Until now._

He backed out quietly and closed the front door, trying not to let them know that he'd seen them. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her.

_His little Lo was in love. _

He sat back down on the porch swing and he allowed himself a smile. The last person on Earth she probably ever expected to fall in love with and she'd done just that.

"I thought you would have finished your cigar and gone back into the house by now." He looked up and saw Martha Kent walking to the house. "It's a little chilly out here."

"The kids needed their privacy." He explained and she laughed as she stepped up on the porch and then sat down on the other end of the swing.

"I've had that experience myself a few times since they came home yesterday." She folded her hands in her lap with a smile. "They have this passion with each other that shouldn't surprise me because they've always argued that way, with passion."

"Your son has changed so much since I saw him last."

"He's changed since _I_ saw him last." She told him. "For longer than he'd care to admit he had these feelings for Lois that he really wrestled with. And I was beginning to think that he wasn't going to do anything about them."

"Until she went AWOL, it seems." He still didn't have the whole story on that.

"Until she went AWOL." Martha nodded. "But once he had her back in his life, everything just seemed to fall into place." And then she laughed. "He calls me every week and we talk about what's happening with the farm and his job at the _Planet_. Now it's never been unusual for him to talk about Lois because they've been friends for so long. But when he started talking about her in a way he never had before I knew that he'd finally made a decision."

"He's going to have his hands full, I hope he knows that." Sam couldn't help but chuckle. "You can take that from someone who knows."

"I think he learned that pretty quickly after they met. So I don't think their being in a relationship is going to change that."

"But it's changed Lois." He told her. "Don't get me wrong, she's still the take charge, bull in a china shop, damn the torpedoes girl I raised. But there's a softness to her that I haven't seen in a long time. It's that softness that reminds me of her mother."

"She's really grown since she's been here, that's for sure." Martha reached out and touched his arm for a moment to get his attention. "But you give us too much credit. Parenting isn't an easy job even when you're there for your kids every day. _Your_ job was even tougher because you had to be away so much. And yet, you raised a daughter who can take care of herself."

"I also raised another daughter who couldn't seem to stay out of trouble for the longest time." He shook his head. "But Lucy _did_ settle down and she finished school, so I'm grateful for that. And I'm even more grateful to Lo for helping me to finally track her down."

"That's because she'd do anything for the people she loves the most. And that does include _you_, you know." She smiled again. "You should hear her sometimes, with _'The General always says'. _You may not think you've had a good influence on her, but I'd have to disagree. She's taken the lessons you taught her to heart and it's part of who she is."

"And yet, she still manages to be so much like her mother."

"She's a wonderful girl, Sam. And maybe while you're here, you can get to know her again."

He didn't have the opportunity to answer before the front door opened and Lois stepped out on the porch. "Aren't you guy's cold? It's freezing out here."

"Says the girl who spent two years at an Army base in Alaska." He quipped and his daughter answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Which is exactly why I like to be _indoors_ when it's cold outside." She stood there, thankfully unaware that he'd seen her earlier. "So are you coming in, or what?"

"I think _I_ will." Martha stood up and smiled at Lois. "But why don't you grab your coat and take your father for a short walk."

"It's pitch black out; he won't be able to see anything." Sam knew that look of suspicion. She was being prodded into doing something she wasn't sure she wanted to do.

"It's all right, Martha." He stood up next to her and got a grateful look from his daughter. "We can do that tomorrow."

"Nonsense." She shook her head. "Lois knows this farm almost as well as Clark does. And while you're doing that, I'll start the coffee and have my son stoke the fire."

General Sam Lane had just been given a direct order.

He looked at Lois and stifled the urge to sigh. "What do you say, Lo?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"You always have a choice, honey. I just think it would be a _nice_ choice if you took a walk with your father." She patted Lois' arm and walked to the door, reaching inside and bringing her coat out. "Don't take too long, though."

She handed the coat to Sam, who held it out for Lois. She slipped her arms into the sleeves as Martha walked into the house and closed the door.

'_Here's your hat, what's your hurry.' _His father always used to say that when he felt as though he was being given the bum's rush.

Lois buttoned up her coat and then stood uncertainly in front of him. He couldn't remember the last time they'd ever been alone together and didn't know exactly what to say. So he didn't say anything.

Instead, he followed Lois as she stepped off the porch and walked to the fence line around the house. "That wasn't exactly subtle, was it?"

She remarked and Sam smiled. _Direct as always._

"No it wasn't." He replied.

"She's done that ever since I've known her." She sighed. "And I can't seem to help doing what she wants."

"Mother's have their ways. My mother did, and so did yours."

"You never talk about her, you know." She sighed again. "Mom, I mean. You've always kept your wedding picture next to your bed, but I don't remember there being a lot of pictures of her around."

"I know." He admitted reluctantly. "I probably should have handled that differently. But you girls were so young when she died that I didn't know how to explain what had happened. And it hurt too much to talk about her, so I didn't."

"You loved her." It was a statement, not a question.

"With all my heart." He assured her. "Your mother wasn't like any girl I'd met before and I've never met a woman like her since. She accepted me, Army career and all when other girls wouldn't."

"Is it true that you proposed to her three times?" He could here the amusement in her question and his soft laugh as he nodded seemed to startle her.

_She thinks you're a humorless SOB, Lane._

"And the third time was a charm. Though I'm still not sure she knew what she was getting into when she finally said yes."

"So even though she turned you down, you wouldn't give up."

"I never gave up because she never said no, she said 'I don't know'. And because we didn't stop seeing each other, I took that to mean that I still had a chance. If anything, we spent even _more_ time together."

"But if she wasn't sure she loved you enough-"

"Lo, it was never a matter of Ellen not being sure if she loved me, because I knew she did and she knew I loved her. But she knew that if she married me, it wouldn't be the kind of nine to five marriage that most girls want."

"So what got her to finally accept?"

"She decided that if having a life with me meant that she'd have to share me with the Army, she was willing to do that. And I can tell you that it was a decision that she never regretted. And then when you girls came along, she knew she'd made the right choice."

"Do you still think about her?" Lois stepped closer to him and that surprised him; she'd kept her distance for so long.

"I think about her every day, and I still miss her." Ellen's death had hit him hard. He'd tried to be home as much as he could after she found out about the cancer and was given extended leave so he could take care of the girls after she died, but eventually he had to go back to work. "I talked to your mother about leaving the Army after we found out she was sick, but she told me that I needed to stay put."

"That's good." He was surprised to hear her say it. "You wouldn't have made it in the civilian world, Dad because the Army's in your blood. It would have kept you home with us, but you wouldn't have been happy."

"But my staying didn't make _you_ happy, did it?"

"Water under the bridge." She shrugged and then tucked her hand through his arm, turning them back toward the house. "I couldn't see it at the time, but I know you did the best you could. And I wouldn't have been able to see as much of the world as I did if you'd left the Army."

"True." He conceded.

"And yea, we had to chase after Lucy for a couple of years. But we got her back in the fold and she's back on the straight and narrow."

"I couldn't have done it without you." It was time to give her an overdue and proper thank you. "Even if you were drafted into the effort."

"I would have helped you anyway, because she's my sister."

"She's lucky to have you, Lo." He took a deep breath and let it out. "And so am I."

"I love you too, Dad." He felt the press of her lips against his cheek. "Now can we please go back to the house?"

"Let's go." He agreed and they picked up their pace and within a few minutes they were back in the house. And to his amusement, the moment Lois had her coat off she walked straight into Clark's arms.

"It's freezing out there." She held him close and to his credit, he had the most bemused expression on his face as though wondering what he'd done to deserve such attention as his arms closed around her waist.

"Well it _is_ October, Lois. It's supposed to be cold."

"I didn't say it was cold, Smallville. I said it was _freez_ing." She looked up at him and tried to appear exasperated with him, but Sam could see she was having a hard time pulling it off.

"And I've got just the remedy for that." Martha walked out to the living room with a tray in her hands. It was loaded down with cups, spoons, cream and sugar. She set it down on the coffee table and turned back for the kitchen.

Sam followed her back and stopped her before she picked up the coffeepot. "Should I ask what all of that was out there?"

"It wasn't anything more than giving a father and daughter a chance to talk. And aside from my telling him to give you your privacy, Clark tells me you seemed to be having a serious conversation."

"We were. Lois had some questions and I gave her the answers."

He wasn't trying to tell her that it wasn't any of her business, but unless Lois wanted to talk about it, he was going to keep quiet. But to Martha's credit, she understood.

"Fair enough." She nodded and picked up a hot pad and the coffeepot. But she stopped short and laughed softly. "Oh, dear."

Clark and Lois were kissing again and he tried to stop a grin he felt coming. They seemed to be making up for a lot of lost time.

"If everyone is ready for coffee, let's sit down." Martha's gentle voice let the pair know they weren't alone and Sam wasn't surprised to see a blush on the face of her son, but the blush on the face of his own daughter, did.

She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn't let her. Instead, he slipped his hand around hers and walked her to the couch. He waited for her to sit, still holding on to her hand and then sat down next to her.

He felt an odd hitch in his heart, remembering how it felt to be young and in love. And from the look he saw cross Martha's face briefly, she was remembering, too.

But he could also see how happy she was that her son was so happy; he knew that feeling as well. "So how is that story of yours coming along?"

"If Smallville would stop correcting my typos, we'd be a lot farther along."

"I only correct them because you ask me to, Lois." Clark smiled at her. "If you'd just use your spell check or a dictionary, we'd probably be done by now."

"Keep talking like that and we _will_ be." She huffed and pulled her hand out of his. But, undaunted, Clark reached over and took it back.

"Let me take over the typing and we'll get it done tomorrow." He soothed. "But for tonight, let's spend the evening with our parents. They have to go back soon and then you're going to be stuck with me."

"I think you've got that wrong, Clark." She cracked a smile at him. "I believe it's me _you're_ going to be stuck with."

"And happy to be." The smile on his face told Sam how true that was and then the younger man faced him. "In answer to your question, General Lane, we're still working on it."

"I gathered that, son." He chuckled. "And I guess if you and my daughter can stop butting heads long enough to get it written, it'll be a hell of a piece."

"We hope so." Clark glanced at Lois.

"I _know_ so." She sniffed. "Because you have me helping you."

"You're not helping me, Lois. We're writing this together."

"As it should be." Lois raised an eyebrow at him and Sam wondered why he hadn't seen earlier just how much she enjoyed sparing with him. "So how about some of that coffee?" She picked up a mug from the tray and handed it to Clark. "Just the way I like it."

He raised his eyebrows at her and then sighed dramatically as he took the mug.

Sam watched as he picked up the coffeepot and poured before he handed the mug back to Lois. "Just the way you like it."

And he kissed her cheek.

"Well _I_ could have done that." She took the mug he proffered and she blushed again.

"But you asked _me_ to." He nodded. "And I didn't mind."

"You never do, Smallville."

_Smallville. _

He was the only boy Sam knew that Lois had ever given a nickname to. It was something that had stuck over the years and he didn't even seem to mind. And that was because he probably didn't; it was just something that made him, hers.

And he didn't seem to mind at all.


	25. Possibilities

Mom had said there would be a consequence for sharing a bed with Lois and she was right.

The consequence was that Clark found himself wide awake and staring at the ceiling, unable to go back to sleep.

It wasn't just that he wanted the feel of her in his arms, because he did. But every time he closed his eyes and tried to rest, he saw his little girl and his baby boy.

It wasn't anything like the dream he'd had at the _Regent_, but it tugged at his heart nonetheless. The problem was, he could still feel the warm weight of his baby son in his arms as he sat on the front porch swing watching his feisty daughter shriek with delight as she and Shelby chased each other around the yard.

It made him homesick for a life that didn't exist and yearn for the children he didn't have.

Maybe it was time to talk to Jor-El and see if there _was_ the possibility of Kryptonians and humans conceiving a child. But more importantly, a _particular_ Kryptonian and human.

He wanted Ellen and Sam and any other kids that might come along.

He wasn't sure how Lois would feel about a big family because until a week ago, Clark wasn't even sure how she felt about _him_. But he liked the idea of having more than a couple of kids who would bring the farm to life with their laughter.

He'd grown up an only child and with Lucy away at boarding school; Lois had been on her own, too.

But at this stage of the game, it was a moot point because as much as he and Lois loved each other, there was still the matter of juggling his life with her and his life as the Blur.

And for Lois, juggling her life as a reporter and her life with him, Blur and all.

Every part of their new relationship was important and integral to who they were, together and apart. And at the moment, he really wanted to be with Lois.

The sudden ring of his cell phone made him start and when he picked it up off of the nightstand, he smiled at the name on the call screen.

Lois.

"_This is all your fault, you know." _He heard her indignant voice and tried not to laugh.

"It usually is, Lois." Clark felt the familiar rush of warmth in his chest at the sound of her voice. "But what's my fault this time?"

"_I can't sleep." _She huffed and he grinned.

"Well did you ever stop to consider that _I'm_ not sleeping either?"

"_You did answer that phone pretty quick." _She conceded and then he heard her sigh. _"This is a lot harder then I thought it would be." _

"I know. Me, too."

"_I mean, I thought I couldn't sleep last night because we were in the same house and once I got back to the Talon, I'd sleep like a baby._ _But it's even harder tonight." _She admitted. _"We haven't had this much distance between us in a week."_

"Maybe it's harder because we ended up sleeping together last night." He suggested, though he wouldn't have changed what he did.

"_Are you saying this is _my_ fault?"_

"You know I'm not." He shook his head. "It's my fault because I could hear how restless you were and I just wanted to be with you."

"_And has that changed?" _She asked him and Clark had the uneasy feeling she was working up to something.

"It's-" He turned his head to look at the clock and it was much later than he thought. "two o'clock in the morning, Lois and I'm awake. What do you think?"

"_Then why are you still there?" _Came the breathless question. _"Instead of here with me?"_

"Lois." His heart started to beat a staccato and his hands began to shake.

"_Sleeping, Smallville. That's all." _Lois assured him, but he wasn't so sure that _he'd_ be satisfied with just sleep.

"I really think we-"

"_Don't think, Clark." _Her voice was becoming insistent and who was he to argue with something he really wanted? _"I've got the apartment to myself and it'll only take you about five seconds to get here."_

"Lois." It was becoming apparent that she wasn't going to take _'no' _for an answer. So he tossed the blankets back, holding the phone to his ear and stood up. "Give me a minute."

"_I knew you wouldn't be able to turn me down." _He heard a giggle that sounded so much like their daughter, just before she disconnected the call.

Only Lois.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

He walked to the bedroom door and picked up his boots before walking down the hall to the kitchen stairs, so he wouldn't have to pass his mother's room. About half way down, he stopped and sighed because he realized that he was sneaking out of his own house.

He was a grown man of twenty-three and he'd been living on his own for the last three years. But the minute his mother comes home for a visit? He's a seventeen-year-old boy sneaking out of the house to see his girlfriend.

And then he found himself grinning.

He liked the idea of that, Lois as his girlfriend.

The question was, would she like the idea of him as her boyfriend?

He got a note pad and a pen and wrote out a brief note for his mother to tell her where he'd gone. The word 'consequences' bounced through his mind again as he walked out to the living room and sat down on the couch to put his boots on. He glanced upstairs before he stood up again and headed to the front door, grabbing his jacket and stepping outside.

It was such an automatic thing to do, put a jacket on, even though he didn't need to. But his parent's had ingrained in him the necessity to fit in. And even though Lois knew the truth about him, the rest of Smallville didn't.

He sped away from the farm and just over five seconds later; he was standing in front of the _Talon_. He hadn't considered how he was going to get in because the front doors were locked. But after he walked around to the side of the building, he saw a window on the second floor ajar and when he reached the bottom of the fire escape, he jumped.

What he saw after he stepped into her bedroom and closed the window behind him made him laugh. Lois was seated cross-legged in the middle of her bed and leaning back on her hands, waiting for him. She was wearing one of her seemingly endless pair of flannel pajamas, and the pair she had on was adorned with tractors and barns.

And before he thought about what he was saying, he blurted out, "Those look like something Ellen would wear."

Her face flushed at his comment and he mentally chastised himself for the slip.

"I'm sorry, Lois." Clark apologized to her and he knew he should have thought twice about coming. "I wasn't thinking."

"Wrong, Smallville." She shook her head and took a breath. "It seems as though you've been doing a _lot_ of thinking."

"Dreaming actually." He admitted and sat down on the edge of the bed. "That's why I was awake when you called. I was dreaming about the kids."

"You got to see him?" Lois looked surprised and pleased all at the same time and then she smiled. "I was sorry that you didn't get the chance to see him in your dream."

"So was I." He smiled back and felt the warmth of a blush as his eyes traveled down briefly to her abdomen. "But I got to feel him move when you were pregnant and I'm sorry you didn't have that chance."

"Clark, how are we supposed to live with this?" She was frowning as she sat up and then folded her hands in her lap. "We've been given this picture of our lives, complete with kids and since I had that dream, I'm-"

She couldn't finish what she wanted to say and shook her head.

"Homesick?" He ventured a guess.

"Yea." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and he could see how surprised she was. "How?"

"Because I feel the same way." Clark reached for one of her hands and she let him take it. "How is it that I feel like a father when I'm not? And how can I miss two kids that don't exist except in our dreams?"

"I miss them too." She squeezed his fingers. "And it feels really weird, missing kids that we don't have."

And because there was only one way that they _could_ have them, Clark knew he needed to leave. "This was a bad idea, Lois. I really should go."

He stood up and Lois reached for his hand as she unfolded her legs and got up on her knees. "No! Please, don't leave me like this."

"I don't think I should stay, not feeling the way we are." He tried to reason, but was it with her or himself?

"Clark, please." She was begging and Lois Lane _never_ begged. "Please."

He wanted to tell her that they couldn't do anything more than sleep, but at that moment, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to honor the deal. So instead of telling her what they both needed to hear, he only nodded and then shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it toward a nearby chair.

He didn't stop to see if it made it before he sat back down, pulled his boots off and set them under the bed. The next thing he knew, Lois' hands were cupping his face and she was kissing him.

It had only been a few hours since they were kissing each other in front of the fire, but to Clark it felt liked days. Kissing her was like breathing the air, he'd come to realize, and he couldn't live without either one.

He suddenly found her straddling his lap and her hands moved down to pull on the bottom of his tee shirt and while a small part of his brain told him that he should stop her, his heart was telling him to let things take their natural course.

Still-

"Lois, I thought you weren't ready." He barely managed to form the words as her hands kept tugging and the result was her warm skin brushing against his.

"Clark, we've had two kids. I think I'm ready." Lois' oddly sound reasoning nearly convinced him as much as her lips pressed against his did.

Nearly.

"But they aren't real." He caught her eye and her face was flushed. "They're only a dream."

He kept trying to convince her even as he sat back and pulled his own tee shirt off, dropping it behind him.

_Consequences._

"A dream come true." She smiled brightly at him because she knew that she was about to get her way as his fingers reached for the hem of her pajama top and began to work the buttons through the buttonholes.

The anticipation of what they were about to do was again tempered by reason. Even when he leaned up and kissed her, continuing to undo her top. "What about wanting our first time to be at the farm?"

She leaned back and framed his face with her hands. "Our second time can be at the farm."

"You sure?" He didn't want her to regret not waiting and his hands stopped on the final button. "I can wait."

"That's very generous of you, Smallville. But I don't want to."

"Okay." He agreed softly and could feel Lois start to tremble. He hesitated to make the next move, but not because he was balking. He just wanted it to be perfect.

"What's wrong?" Her gentle query got him to look at her smiling face and he sighed.

"I just don't want to disappoint you."

"You could never disappoint me, Clark." She tipped his face up. "Just listen to your heart, it'll tell you what to do."

"I love you." He wanted her to hear that so she would be sure to understand how much this meant to him.

"I love you, too." She kissed him again. "And we'll take this as slow as you need to."

"Okay." He felt his own body start to tremble as he let go of the last button. He could have easily undone it, but he chose instead to get his arms around her waist and pull her close against him.

It seemed to be the safer option.

The action backfired on him however, when he felt the warmth of her exposed skin pressed against his and his body reacted to the intimate contact.

She tried so hard to appear as thought she wasn't aware of what had just happened. But her face flamed red and her breath hitched and the trembling got worse.

He felt her fingers in his hair as she gently massaged the nape of his neck. She seemed to be waiting, very patiently, to see what he was going to do.

Her silent question was answered with his silent answer as he moved her off of his lap. He rolled her onto her back and then pressed her down into the mattress. A soft sigh was followed by a gasp of surprise when he leaned down and pressed his lips to her abdomen.

The muscles fluttered under his lips and he smiled as her body reacted to what he was doing to her. He was getting such a sense of deja vu because he couldn't shake the feeling he'd had her in this position before.

And then he couldn't help but wonder if it had been when they'd conceived Ellen or Sam or-

The tail end of that last thought brought him up short.

_A third child? _

His heart started to jackhammer in his chest and he rest his cheek where his lips had just been.

"Hey, are you okay?" He felt the brush of Lois' hand in his hair. "We don't have to go through with this if you're not ready."

"It's not that." He sighed and wondered how he could explain it. But they'd been honest about everything they'd been experiencing since having those dreams and he knew he couldn't keep it from her.

He sighed again and struggled to a seated position on the bed before he reached over and closed the open material of her top over her abdomen. He then moved to the side of the bed and dropped his forearms to his knees before running a shaky hand through his hair.

"Tell me." Her voice was soft and understanding as he felt her move and then settle down next to him, slipping her hand into his. "Something's got you spooked."

"Did we ever talk about having more than two kids?" He asked, hoping she would understand what he meant.

"I remember telling you that if we could have another baby that had your temperament, I'd consider it." Her breathless answer made him flush. "Why do you ask?"

"That's what I was thinking about back there." He glanced over at her. "I could feel your stomach fluttering and I got the feeling that we'd been in this situation before when you'd gotten pregnant."

"Would you _like_ to have more than two kids?" She asked and he could feel the tremor in her hand.

"Would _you_?" He didn't mean to deflect her question.

"I asked first." Lois leaned over and kissed his cheek. "So answer."

"As long as they're ours, I'd like as many as you'd want to have." He told her truthfully and he felt a smile pull at his lips.

"Your very own football team?" She laughed softly and he let out a nervous breath as she added. "I know. Another star quarterback for Smallville High."

"Or a house full of reporters." He countered and Lois smiled. "Maybe even a senator."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "It could be that two reporters, a hunky hero and a senator in one family would be enough."

"It's hard to say what kind of abilities our kids would have, seeing as how they'd be half Kryptonian." He squeezed her hand. "That's even if we'd be able to get pregnant."

"Clark, we've been talking about kids for the last two days." She sighed and the trembling in her hand got worse. "So I think it's time we go talk to Jor-El, so we know for sure."

"And what if it turns out we can't?" The thought of that made him a little sad.

"Then we'll do what your parents did, we'll adopt." She kissed his shoulder before she reached over for his tee shirt and handed it to him. "And we'll love them as much as they loved you."

"I know." He agreed as she pulled his shirt on and took Lois' hand again. "Call me selfish, but I _would_ like to have a daughter who looks just like you."

"And I'd like a son who looks just like you." She shrugged. "But sometimes, Smallville we don't always get what we want."

"Like tonight?" _They'd been thwarted again._

"Yea, about that." She smiled at him. "The next time you get me on a bed and nearly have me out of my pajamas, you'd better be prepared to follow through. You got that?"

"Shouldn't that work both ways?" He grinned back. "After all, you _did_ have me out of my tee shirt."

"I didn't hear you complaining." Lois laughed and Clark could feel the tremor in her hand beginning to subside. "And I can guarantee that when the time comes, you _won't_ be."

"Is that a promise or a threat?" He laughed with her, remembering the conversation they'd had after she'd figured out that Clark had talked to Lex about getting her back into Met U.

'_Don't pretend you had nothing to do with this. Why would Lex call out of the blue on my behalf?'_

'_Look, the important thing is, you got in and you're leaving.' He'd commented. When he'd realized she wasn't walking with him, he'd turned around to see her giving him a look. And he'd found himself back peddling a little. "Because that's what you wanted, right?'_

'_Yea, yea. Don't get all broken up about it.' She'd paused for a moment. 'You know if I could describe my time here in one word, it would be weird. I'll look forward to the relative normalcy of the big city. But don't worry. I'll visit.'_

_Clark found that he couldn't pass up the chance to needle her. 'Is that a promise or a threat?'_

_And with a smile on her face, she'd punched him. 'See you around. Smallville.'_

"Should I ask what you're thinking about?" She pulled on his arm.

"What else would I be thinking about, Lois? Except you."

"I like that answer." She smiled. "And now that I've said that, you have to go."

"I know." He reached under the bed and got his boots. "I shouldn't have come over here in the first place."

"Hey." Lois grasped his chin and held his gaze. "This was my idea, remember? And I didn't exactly let you give me 'no' for an answer."

"That's because you don't _know_ the meaning of the word 'no'." He brushed a hand across her cheek.

"Come on, Smallville. I wouldn't be _me_ if I didn't say no."

"True. But for tonight I think no is a good thing." He dropped his hand to pick up one of his boots and slip his foot into it. "Lois?"

"What is it?" He felt her hand on his shoulder.

"You know we can't do this anymore. Not until the time is right." He couldn't look at her and after he finished tying the laces on the one boot, pushed his foot into the other. "This is the second time we haven't made love and I think there's a reason for that."

"Because you think too much?" She laughed softly and he sighed. "Relax, Clark. I know what you're saying. And as much as I would have liked something to happen tonight, I _did_ say I wanted our first time to be at the farm. And that's where it's going to be." She pushed on his shoulder. "So you need to go home now. Just call me when you get there."

He finished tying the laces and stood up, glancing at her pajama top and she was all buttoned up. "Just so you know I got home okay?"

"I want you to call me- " She didn't miss where his eyes had gone and she tapped him under his chin. "so I can hear your voice before I go to sleep."

"Then get into bed, get comfortable and give me about ten seconds."

"Tuck me in?" She got up to her knees again and grasped the edge of his tee shirt. Her eyes sparkled with what he swore was mischief and she gave him such a child like smile. "Consider it practice."

"You really are trying to drive me crazy, aren't you?" He leaned over and kissed her.

"Completely." She kissed him back. "So how about it, handsome?"

_Handsome? _That was a new one.

"Only if you promise to go to sleep." _You sound like a father, Clark._

Apparently, Lois thought so too. "Yes, Dad."

"In." He pointed at the bed.

"Some bedside manner _you've_ got." She feigned a pout as she backed up while Clark pulled the comforter and blankets back.

"Were you always this difficult to put to bed?" He asked as Lois got under the blankets and he pulled them up to her chin.

She in turn pulled her arms out and tucked them under her armpits. "The General always said so."

"I'm beginning to sympathize with him." He sat down on edge of the bed and took one of her hands in his. "I don't suppose you want a bedtime story?"

She shook her head. "How about a goodnight kiss and you can get your Blurry butt out of here."

"Sleep well, Lois."

"Not until you get home."

"I won't be long." He promised as he pressed his lips to hers, caressing the soft, warm skin and she answered with a little more pressure before she suddenly pulled back.

"Sorry."

"I'm not." He squeezed her hand and stood up. "You want some tea or hot cocoa before I leave?"

She seemed to be considering his offer and then nodded. "Some of your mom's chamomile tea?"

"You've got it." He smiled and super speeding out to the kitchen, he found the tea. In short order, he heated the water with his heat vision, steeped the tea and had it back in the bedroom in less that three seconds.

"That super speed of yours is going to come in very handy." She commented as he picked up his jacket and slipped his arms through the sleeves.

"I can see it now." Clark grinned as he stopped next to the bed. "I'm going to become Lois Lane's personal errand boy."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "But it won't go un-rewarded, just remember that."

"As if you'd let me." He took her hand for a moment before he stepped to the window. "Make sure this is locked behind me."

"Smallville, this is Smallville. What could happen?"

"Humor me." He unlatched the window and opened it.

"That's means I have to get out of bed."

"Humor me." He repeated, refusing to move until she'd tossed the blankets back and walked to the window.

"The things I do for you." She remarked as he stepped out onto the fire escape.

"Only because you want to." He replied. "I'll call you as soon as I get home."

"Yes, you will." She gave him a pointed look and Clark nodded as she closed the window. He waited until he saw her latch it and he mouthed 'Thank you' to her before he climbed down the fire escape and took off for the farm.

He walked into the house through the kitchen door, pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and pressed 1 on his speed dial. He heard the call connect and before Lois had a chance to say anything, he greeted her. "Hi, honey. I'm home."

"_Very funny." _He was pretty sure she was smiling.

"You're not letting your tea get cold, are you?" He asked her as he picked up the note he'd left for his mother.

"_Clark, you only left ten seconds ago." _And then he heard her laugh. _"And it's still too hot to drink. Are you sure you didn't boil the water?"_

"I was in a hurry." He smiled at the sound of it. "So I might have."

"_That's all right, I can't sleep yet anyway. But I'm pretty sure that when I do, I'll be having some really nice dreams." _

Was it possible to hear someone blush? Because he was pretty sure that she was.

"I will be, too." He replied as he walked up the kitchen stairs, heading to his room. "But that's not going to happen if we don't hang up."

"_I suppose we have to do that if we're going to sleep." _She stated the obvious. _"And you want to know something? I think I'll be sleeping a lot better tonight."_

"I think I will be too." Clark nodded his agreement. "And I don't think I could have said that earlier."

"_Me, either." _She sighed. _"But I think we're going to sleep better now because we know the time is coming and we want it to be perfect."_

"It will be, Lois." He promised her. "I'll make sure of it."

"_With a lot of help from me." _

"With a lot of help from you." Clark repeated and glanced at his watch as he walked into his room and closed the door. "But in the meantime, we need to go to sleep. Don't forget, you're coming over for breakfast tomorrow."

"_And the General." _She reminded him.

"It'll be fine." He tried to reassure her as he shrugged out of his jacket and hung it across the back of his old desk chair. He then tossed the crumpled paper into the wastebasket. "You and your dad seemed to get along fine tonight."

"_Yea, we did. I have to admit, that kind of surprised me." _

"He may keep surprising you, Lois." He walked to the edge of his bed and sat down. "Just keep giving him a chance, like you did earlier."

"_It's amazing to see how much he still loves my mother." _

Clark untied his boots and pulled them off with one hand, keeping the phone to his ear with the other. "I think your parents had the same kind of marriage _my_ parents did. And just because _your_ mom and _my_ dad are gone, it doesn't change how much they're still loved."

He pulled his legs up onto the mattress and lay down, pulling the blankets over him. _Back where he started when she'd called._

"_Do you think _we're_ like them?" _He heard the breathless sound in her voice again and he had to admit how much he loved the sound of it.

"We're not married." He told her with a straight face, though he really felt like smiling.

"_No kidding." _She huffed. _"But you know that's not what I meant."_

_She's being serious, Clark. _Give her the courtesy of being serious, too.

"I think we are." He told her honestly. "It took us a while to get here, but I do think we are."

"_And do you have any idea how much that scares me?"_

"I do, because it scares me too. But you know what scares me even more?" He stopped for a moment and took a breath. "Not having you in my life."

"_I'm not going anywhere, Smallville. You can count on that." _And she laughed again. _"Except possibly Dreamland. I've gotten really sleepy all of a sudden; you didn't put anything in this, did you?"_

"There's nothing in that mug but hot water and tea." He snuggled down himself and as he slowly began to relax, closed his eyes. "I think the excitement of everything that happened is catching up with us and we need some sleep."

"_I think that's a good idea." _He heard her yawn and then heard the sound of her bedside lamp being snapped off. He then heard the rustle of her comforter and knew she was settling down, too. _"Would you mind if we didn't hang up?"_

"You want to keep talking?"

"_No. I just want to go to sleep knowing you're on the other end." _She admitted.

"I'm not going anywhere. So go ahead and go to sleep."

"_Goodnight, Clark."_

"Goodnight, Lois."

"_I love you."_

"I love you, too. Now go to sleep."

"_I will if you stop talking." _He heard a giggle.

"Lois."

"_Goodnight." _And except for the eventual sound of her even breathing coming through the phone, she was finally quiet.

"Goodnight, honey."

And he went to sleep with his phone to his ear.


	26. The Ties That Bind

_She couldn't believe that she was doing it, again._

_It was so easy to put out of your mind how it felt to give birth, but there she was, going through it for a third time._

_And Clark wasn't with her._

"_Come on, Lo." Her father's low voice was near her ear. "You're almost there."_

"_Daddy, I can't do this anymore." She was tired, she was thirsty and she wanted her husband with her. But as much as she wanted that, even Lois had to admit that having her father there to coach her, was almost as good._

"_Sure you can." He told her firmly and his grasp on her hand was strong. "You've already been through this, so you're a pro."_

"_I'm an idiot for letting him talk me into this."_

"_He didn't have to talk you into anything and you know that." He laughed softly. _

"_Shouldn't you be taking _my_ side in this?" Another contraction hit and as her father's grip tightened, his other hand stroked the damp hair off of her forehead. _

"_Lois, I'm going to need you to push for me." Dr. Hamilton interrupted. "One more good push and it'll all be over."_

"_I can't." Lois shook her head and looked to her father for support. "I can't push anymore."_

"_Lois." She could feel Dad's hand shaking as he tried to sound as though he was giving her an order. "You're not a quitter; you can do this."_

"_I want Clark here." And to her utter humiliation, she started to cry. _

"_I know you do." He nodded and was starting to look as though he wanted to be anywhere but there. "But you're going to have to put up with your old dad."_

_She shook her head. "I didn't mean it that way."_

"_I know you didn't." His grip on her hand remained strong. "So let's give the doctor one more push and you can finish bringing the newest Kent into the world."_

"_Thanks for being here." She squeezed his fingers. "If it couldn't be Clark, I'm glad it's you."_

"_Push for me, Lois." Dr. Hamilton's voice was urgent. "Now."_

_And just as she started to bear down she heard- "Lois!"_

"_No time for talking, son." Dad let go and then the large, warm hand of her husband gripped hers tightly. "She needs to push."_

"_Of all the days-" She fumed, even though she knew it wasn't his fault._

"_I know." He nodded and kissed her. "But I'm here now. So let's finish this together."_

"_Okay." She agreed; being much too tired to argue with him. And as she made that final push, Dr. Hamilton finally told her to stop and she lay back, utterly exhausted. _

_A few moments later, she heard the cry of their baby and her heart started to flutter furiously. "Is the baby okay?"_

"_The baby is fine, honey." Clark kissed her again and he was shaking. "You're both fine."_

"_You do realize that we're not going through this again." She grabbed the front of the surgical gown he was wearing. "Ever."_

"_I know." He answered with a laugh. "I know." _

Her eyes were open in a shot and Lois couldn't help but notice that she'd broken out into a cold sweat.

_This was ridiculous._

There had just been too much talking about babies in the last few days and she was sure it was what had influenced that dream. Because they weren't even sure that they'd be able to have babies.

She was shaking terribly as she tossed back the blankets and couldn't help but wonder if she should tell Clark about it. But she didn't want to freak him out with the idea, so she decided to hold back.

At the moment though, she needed coffee.

She sat up and pushed her feet into her slippers and walked out of the bedroom. What she saw when she walked into the living room was a fire in the fireplace and Clark in the kitchenette, making coffee.

_Her handsome homebody. _

"Smallville, how did you get in here?" She asked softly, not having her voice yet.

"The front door, which you forgot to lock." He turned away from the coffee maker to face her, and he was smiling. "Do I really need to remind you about that, _again_?"

"And do you lock _your_ doors?" She put her hands on her hips and he sighed before he shook his head. "I thought you'd see it my way." She dropped her hands and walked to where Clark was standing and put her arms around his waist.

She smiled when she felt his arms close around her and pull her close. "Besides, this _is_ Smallville. It may be the world capital of all things weird, but it's the only place I've lived where I've felt so safe."

"This may be Smallville, Lois but I'd still feel better if you locked your door." He pressed a light kiss to her lips. "Please?"

"I'll think about it." She slipped her hands under his tee shirt, stroking his warm skin and his face flushed. "But I wouldn't mind a little more convincing."

"Before your first cup of coffee?" He grinned. "I'm flattered."

"You should be." She tapped a finger to her lips. "Now stop stalling and start convincing."

His grin softened to a smile and he whispered. "Okay."

Lois tipped her face up as his lips came down to meet hers and she smiled when she quickly realized that he was, too. She felt one of his hands slip down to the low of her back, the other hand moved up to the middle of her back as hers continued to brush his skin.

She got the feeling that after the events of the previous evening, he was being careful not to accelerate things to a point that they were going to leave each other frustrated. So she followed his lead and kept her touch light. She then focused on how his lips felt on hers and how his body shifted as he held her close.

_He was really good at that. _

Unfortunately though, it had the effect of essentially turning off her hearing to everything but the sound of his breathing mingling with hers. So she didn't hear the front door open or the sound of her cousin's voice, until it was too late.

"And she hasn't picked up any of her messages." There was a pause followed by a sigh. "Never mind, Ollie. I found her."

_What was she, a lost dog?_

"Lois, where have you been?" Chloe's irritated voice chided her and when Lois looked up at Clark, he had a stony expression on his face. "You were supposed to be home on Saturday."

"I stayed at the farm." She turned around to see her very cross-looking cousin. "Chlo, there's only one other place that I go in Smallville. If you'd called the farm, you would have found me there."

"Why didn't you come home?"

"I didn't want to come back to an empty apartment." _Don't get defensive, Lois. _"So Clark offered me his mom's room and I took him up on it."

"I never would have taken you for the domestic type. Lo." It wasn't exactly a subtle barb, and Lois wondered what she'd done to deserve it. "And with Clark, no less."

Lois blinked in surprise as she felt Clark's hands come to rest on her shoulders in support. "What exactly did I do?"

"You didn't tell me you weren't coming home right away." She knew an evasive answer when she heard one, and Chloe was being evasive. "I was worried."

"Chloe, you're hardly ever here." Lois kept her voice level. "I didn't think an extra day would be that big a deal."

"Knowing that Uncle Sam was here would have been nice, too."

_Lois had had enough._

"He wouldn't have felt the need to come if you hadn't called him." Lois sighed. "You're my cousin and I love you, but I'm a big girl."

"And it doesn't bother you knowing that Clark isn't who you thought he was?"

So was _that_ what this was all about? Chloe knowing that she knew Smallville's secret?

"Clark is still Clark." She glanced back at the current topic of conversation. "A little less dorky than he used to be, but I don't mind."

"That's not what I mean." Chloe shook her head insistently. "Lo, he's not what any of us thought he was."

Lois sighed again.

It seemed that her cousin had forgotten that even with all of the abilities he had, Clark was still the guy she'd known since junior high school.

"You're right." She agreed with a nod. "But he's still your best friend, he's still Mrs. Kent's son and he's still a reporter at _The Daily Planet_. And I still love him, _all_ of him."

"Do you even understand what that means?"

"I understand that his being Kryptonian is part of who he is." She backed up so she could feel his strength brace her. "And I understand that he's using the abilities he was born with to help people."

"That's just it, Lo. He's Kryptonian; he's not human." She folded her arms across her chest. "And he was sent here to save us, not to play house with _you_."

"I may be Kryptonian, Chloe but I was raised as a human. And I've learned that I can't live my life as one or the other." Clark interjected and squeezed Lois's shoulders. "I tried denying my Kryptonian side for too long and it didn't work. And then I tried to deny my human side and that didn't work either."

"How can you deny a human side when you're not human?" Chloe seemed truly confused and that troubled Lois. "Kal-El is who you are; Clark Kent is only a disguise."

She wasn't serious; _was _she?

"Do you want to tell my mother that?" Clark asked her softly. "She and Dad raised me as _their_ son, even knowing that I wasn't from Earth. They loved me and cared for me and wanted what was best for me. And until I was fifteen, I had no idea that I wasn't human."

"And you kept _that_ a secret, didn't you?" Her tone was resentful.

"Because I was afraid that you would see me differently." Lois heard him sigh. "And I was right."

That quiet comment seemed to catch her off guard and Chloe's face paled. "That was Alicia's decision, not mine."

_Alicia Baker?_

"I know." Clark acknowledged. "But you were already doing some digging on your own before you even met her."

"I just wanted to know what you were keeping from me."

_She'd heard enough._

"Chlo, it wasn't your secret to know." Lois remarked gently. "But I'm sure he would have told you in his own time, if he'd had the chance."

"Lois, are you honestly going to tell me that you don't see him any differently now? Knowing what you know about him?"

"I don't see him any differently." She shook her head. "He may not have been born here, but without the Kent's he wouldn't be the man that he is. It takes more than biology to shape a person."

"And it doesn't bother you that he waited so long to tell you?"

"No." Lois was honest. "I had the feeling for a long time that there was something different about him. But I also knew that if he wanted to tell me he would do it when he was ready, and he did."

She didn't seem to know what else to say. So she turned for the door and opened it. "Tell Uncle Sam I say hello."

"You can tell him yourself, he's staying at the _Smallville Inn_." And she added. "I know he'd love to see you."

Chloe nodded and walked out, closing the door behind her.

"Well, that was fun." Lois leaned against Clark's solid body and his arms slipped down around her waist as she dropped her head back to his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

"Smallville, we're going to have to do something about you apologizing all the time." She couldn't help but smile. "Not everything in the universe is your fault."

"It feels like it sometimes."

"That's because you can be too nice for your own good." She turned in his arms and put her hands on his chest. "But I'm here to tell you that everyone makes mistakes and it doesn't matter if you're human or Kryptonian."

Clark hugged her to him and Lois could feel his rapid heartbeat under her hand. "You always put things in perspective."

"That's what I'm here for, Clark." She rubbed the palpitations with her fingers. "Because you can be _much_ too serious."

"True." He agreed with a nod before he let her go. "Well, your coffee should be ready, so I'm going to let you get dressed. I'll be back later to take you out to the farm."

"Did you drive or super speed?"

"I drove." He kissed her cheek and walked to the front door. "I needed to pick up feed for the animals and figured that I could swing by here and take you back with me."

"Always thinking about others aren't you?" She smiled at him.

"It's all my parent's fault." He chuckled as he turned momentarily. "If I give you forty-five minutes, will that be enough time for you to get ready?"

"Come back in forty-five minutes and find out." Lois laughed as she followed him and he gave her an exasperated look.

"Lois."

"The clock is ticking." She informed him as he opened the door. "So you need to step outside and then I can get moving."

"Forty-five minutes?" He asked and Lois shrugged.

"I'll do my best." She gave him a kiss, pushed him out onto the landing and just before she closed the door she added. "I promise."

As she walked to the coffee maker to pour herself her first cup she heard, "Lois, lock the door."

"Yes, Dad." She muttered and retraced her steps.

"I heard that." Came the amused reply and when she opened the door enough to look out into the empty _Talon_, she saw Clark walking down the stairs. And if she didn't know better, he was laughing.

_Smart-ass._

She closed the door again and locked it before she padded back to the counter and poured her coffee.

When he returned forty-five minutes later, there was a look of surprise on his face when Lois opened the door. She was showered, dressed, her hair was dry and her make-up was applied.

"Wow." He looked suitably impressed. "Forty-five minutes."

"Forty minutes, actually." She corrected him. "I may not have super speed, but when you grow up with military length showers, you learn to adapt."

He laughed as she stepped aside and let him inside. "Well that would explain the marathon showers after you came to live with us. No three star general breathing down your neck."

"I don't know if your parents were too happy about it though." She sighed. "They never said anything, but I got the feeling they wished I'd take shorter showers."

"I'm sure Dad did." He laughed again. "But I don't think Mom really minded. What was important to her was that she had someone else around to mother."

"As if she didn't already have her hands full with _you_." It was Lois' turn to laugh. "You did seem to give your parents a headache or two."

"_We_ gave them a headache or two, Lois." He corrected her rightly.

"That was only because you tailed after me because you didn't think I could take care of myself. And it was usually me that ended up saving your bacon."

"Lois, if it hadn't been for me you would have had an unscheduled makeover." He reminded her needlessly because she'd never really gotten over being trapped inside what was for all intent and purposes, a sarcophagus. And the sight of all those large needles descending on her still woke her up at night on occasion.

"But you seem to forget that I ended up rescuing the both of us because that machine was powered up with kryptonite."

"I guess that's our fate in life, isn't it?" He reached for her and got his arms around her waist. "We're always going to be rescuing each other."

"As long as I end up with those big, strong arms of yours around me, I won't mind." She smiled as she put her hands on his chest. It had become a habit that she didn't think she'd ever be able to live without.

"And as long as I end up with your hands on me, I won't either." He quipped and gave her a quick kiss. "Now if you're ready, let's get going. Mom called while I was at the feed store and your dad's at the farm."

"Punctual as always." She shook her head. "Which means we're late."

"_I'm_ not late, Lois _you_ are." He kissed her again. "I was up, showered, dressed and in town before you even woke up. And it looked like you were having kind of an intense dream. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Her heart fluttered nervously and she was pretty sure he didn't believe her, but made the choice not to press.

"Okay." He looked a little dubious and then he took a breath. "I was thinking that if you were interested, we could go to the fortress later. All the talk about kids the last few days has me really wanting to know."

"What about my dad?" She asked as they walked to the front door and he opened it, waiting for her.

"Mom said she'd take him for a tour around the farm and she'd tell him that I forgot something while I was in town and asked me to go back. We can drive out to the caves or I can super speed us up there. It's up to you."

"What's faster?" She wanted to know as she picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder.

"Super speed." He told her. "But you might get a little cold."

"Pfft." She waived him off as she closed the door behind them and locked it. "Once you've lived in Greenland for a couple of years, you realize that not many places can be colder."

Clark laughed as he took her hand and they started down the stairs. "Is there any place you _haven't_ lived?"

"South Dakota?" She joked as he put his hand on her back as they got to the bottom of the stairs. He nudged her through the main door of the coffee shop and out to his truck.

It was a short drive, much too short for her liking. Her hand was tucked in his as they sat shoulder to shoulder on the drive back to the farm and Lois couldn't help but realize that it was the first time she'd ever sat so close to him.

It was a comforting feeling as was the familiarity of the acres of farmland they passed on their way home. The fields were all empty now, having been harvested and prepared for the spring planting.

She knew when the time came; Clark would be out in the fields using his limited spare time to plant. She used to wonder how he did it, before she knew he had super speed. But knowing what she knew now, it was a surprise when he told her that he planted the way his dad had.

'_There are just some things you can't rush, son.' _Mr. Kent had told him and apparently Clark had found that out the hard way.

He'd admitted to things being more challenging time wise, because he never knew when he was going to have to stop and rush off to make a save. But it just meant that he had to be more efficient with the time he _did_ have.

That's why he'd forewarned her that there would be stretches of time during the spring when he wouldn't be able to see much of her. But she'd already remedied that by telling him that she wasn't going to let a little planting get in her way of seeing him.

Learning to cook might just come in handy.

"You're awfully deep in thought." Clark squeezed her hand. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine." She assured him. "I always seem to get a little introspective whenever I'm out here."

"Dad always said that farming gave a man plenty of time to think." He nodded. "That's one of the reasons I like to take things slow."

"It's funny you should mention that, because it's what I was thinking about."

"I don't think I really appreciated what Dad did out here until I didn't _have_ to do it anymore. You get a different perspective on things when you choose to do them."

"Do your abilities count?"

"Especially my abilities." He nodded again. "They felt like such a burden for too long, because it meant having to acknowledge that I wasn't human. And that's all I wanted for a long time was to be like everyone else."

"But if you _were_ like everyone else, you wouldn't be Clark Kent." Lois remarked as she put her head down on his shoulder. "Being from Krypton, being Kal-El, the Blur, a reporter, a Kent and a farm boy at heart, it's all part of what makes you, _you_. And I wouldn't want you to ever deny _any_ of it."

"Other than my mom, you're the only one who really understands that." Clark sighed and he gripped her hand. "Chloe means well, but she thinks that my focus should be on my Kryptonian half and the Blur. She doesn't understand that I need Clark _and_ Kal-El."

"Smallville, you do what you need to do for yourself." She said. "You know what works best for you and it's not up to me, your mom or Chloe to tell you any different."

"The thing is, you and mom don't."

"Clark, she's kept your secret for so long that's she's bound to be a little possessive about it, and about you."

_That was harder to admit than she thought. _

"But that's _your_ job now." He laughed softly, having to know that he'd tossed her own words back at her. "I don't need a sidekick, I need a partner. I need _you_."

"You know how to romance a girl, don't you?" She teased, not wanting him to know how much his words meant to her.

"Not just _a_ girl, Lois." He smiled at her and pressed a brief kiss in her hair. "_You_."

If he hadn't been driving, she would have kissed him senseless for that.

He was just so sweet.

The yellow farmhouse came into view as Clark approached the dirt road that would take them the last few hundred yards to the house. And when he brought the truck to a stop, next to his dad's old pick up he saw an Army staff car parked behind it.

Lois looked at her watch and smiled. "We're about two hours behind his usual mealtime, so we better get in there."

"You go ahead. I need to get these feed sacks out to the barn." He let go of her hand and opened his door. "Tell Mom I'll be in, in a few minutes."

"Will do." She leaned over and kissed him before she opened her own door and got out. After she closed it, she faced Clark across the bed of the truck. "Do you need some help with those?"

"Thanks." He smiled at her as he reached in for the bulky bags. "But it'll be faster if I do it."

"Just don't say I never offered to help." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Noted." He remarked as he pulled what must have been at _least_ a hundred pounds of feed out of the truck and then after he looked toward the house, he was gone.

She was rocked back by the gust of wind and she smiled again.

Super powered or not, Clark Kent was very much his father's son.


	27. The Birds and the Bees

It shouldn't have bothered him so much, but it did.

To think that someone he'd considered his friend since the eighth grade didn't know him. And to be perfectly honest, it didn't just bother him; it hurt.

Maybe part of it _was_ his fault.

He'd left Chloe when she really needed him, to begin his training with Jor-El and put Clark Kent in the past. He'd been determined to watch over Metropolis and live his life as no one else but the Blur.

But that was before he saw with his own eyes that Lois was still alive. And having her back complicated his decision because the ache in his heart that he'd felt with her being gone suddenly eased and was replaced with a flutter he'd never imagined would ever be there for her.

The fact was, once he'd returned to the _Planet_ and saw Lois sitting at her desk holding his nameplate, the flutter in his heart gained strength and it was then he knew with absolute certainty that she was the one he'd always needed in his life.

He'd come back for Lois, when he wouldn't come back for Chloe and belatedly he finally understood why she'd been so short with him and with Lois.

She thought their friendship would be enough for him.

After storing the feed sacks in the barn Clark walked across the yard and back toward the house, expecting that Lois would have gone inside. So he was a little surprised when he found her sitting on the swing.

She was waiting for _him_.

"Why didn't you go inside?" He asked her as he stepped up on the porch. "It's a lot warmer in the house than it is out here."

"You know how to state the obvious don't you, Smallville?" She stood up and he reached for her hand.

It was still something he was getting used to, having the privilege of having her so close to him and of her wanting _him_ so close.

"Besides, I never worry about the cold as long as you're around." She smiled at him as she got her arms around his waist. "Who needs a heater when I've got you?"

"I think there's a compliment in there somewhere." Clark hugged her to him, happy to have her in his arms.

"I don't go for veiled compliments, Clark and you should know that by now. Subtlety has never really been a strong suit in my family."

"That's true." He felt a grin pull at his lips as one of Lois's eyebrows went up. "What?"

"Just marveling at the influence I've had on you." She answered. "You're becoming less subtle and more straightforward. I like that."

"I always aim to please you, Lois." He volleyed back. "But you're starting to shake, so let's get in the house so you can thaw out."

"Who said it's because of the cold?" Her face flushed as she pulled out of his arms and turned for the front door. "There could be other reasons for that."

She finished her statement by opening the door and stepping inside. She then looked back over her shoulder and gave him a look that was so coy that it left him speechless. "Don't you think?"

She promptly closed the door in his face and heard the faint sound of a giggle.

He stood there, staring at the door and marveled at how easily she changed gears. Needless to say, there was still so much to learn about her and he couldn't wait.

He opened the door and walked into the front hall, closing the door behind him. He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it up before he walked through the living room and into the kitchen.

"The rear guard is finally here." General Lane cracked a smile. "I would have thought your scout would have done a better job of leading you to the objective."

"I had another mission I needed to complete first." Clark answered and Lois's father laughed.

_That was a good sign._

"So the leader of this squad has informed me." He appeared as though he was trying to regain his composure.

Clark's mother handed him a cup of coffee and he took a sip. "Thanks, Mom."

No one made coffee as good as she did.

"You're welcome, honey." She turned to the stove. "Clark, I hate to do this to you because you just got home. But I'm going to have to ask you to go back into town after breakfast."

_She was giving him the excuse he needed to get Lois up to the Fortress._

"I wanted to do some baking before I leave tomorrow, but I'm nearly out of flour and sugar. Would you mind?"

"If it means I get some of your chocolate chip cookies, I'll be happy to."

"Fair enough." She agreed with a nod. "But the more I think about it, I'd like to stock up the pantry for you, too. I'll give you a list and if you take Lois with you it'll take less time."

"I think Smallville can handle it." Lois glanced at him, knowing it would be what her father would expect. "He doesn't need me."

"That may be true. But I'd consider it a favor if you did, all right?" Mom used her best 'guilt' voice and Lois nodded, as though she was doing something she'd rather not do.

"All right. But only because you asked."

"I appreciate that, Lois." Mom turned around and smiled at her. "Now, if you would set the table for me I'm just about ready to serve."

"Sure thing, Mrs. K." She replied and picked up the place settings that Mom had left on the island. He followed her out to the dining room and offered to help her, which she accepted when she handed him the plates. "Your mom is amazing."

"She's had a lot of practice." He admitted quietly as he walked around the table, setting the plates down. "She and Dad were never comfortable having to lie, but they were protecting me; so they did it."

"You do what you have to, to protect the ones you love." Lois was matter of fact about it as she looked at him across the table.

"Would _you_?" He wondered.

"Yes." She answered softly, but without hesitation. "Because a lot of people wouldn't see _who_ you are, only _what_ you are."

"We're lying to your dad." That bothered him, but it was the way it had to be for the time being.

"And don't think I'm happy about that." She tucked the napkins next to the plates and handed the silverware to Clark, who laid out the utensils. "My dad's a smart guy and if we keep seeing each other-"

"If?" He couldn't resist because he knew, as well as she did, that they were it for each other.

She shoved as his shoulder as he laughed. "You know what I mean."

"I know what you mean." He grasped at her hand and held it. "There's going to come a time where we'll need to tell him, it's just not going to be today. I'd like to give him the chance to know me better before we spring that on him."

"You're smarter than you look, Smallville." Lois squeezed his hand and pulled hers out of his. She headed back into the kitchen and all he could do was shake his head in amusement.

He walked back in behind her just as Mom was scooping the scrambled eggs onto the platter. The sausage and bacon were done and he could see that the bacon was burnt around the edges; jus the way Lois liked it.

And when she reached for a slice, Mom swatted her hand away. "You're just as bad as Clark."

"Two peas in a pod, if you ask me." Lois's father tried to hide a smile behind his mug of coffee. "They just don't see it."

"I think they do." Mom replied and handed the platter to Lois with a wink. "They just don't want anyone _else_ to see it."

"And we were doing just fine until this big dope fell in love." She inclined her head toward him as though she couldn't believe he'd done something so dumb.

"I'm not exactly in this by myself, Lois." He felt the need to point it out to her. "I'm not the only one who-"

"Get a move on, Smallville. The eggs are going to get cold." Lois's face flushed and she cut him off when she headed to the dining room.

'_Fell in love.' _Clark finished silently with a smile. Maybe she wasn't ready to let her father hear that. But to be perfectly honest he wasn't sure he was ready for his mother to hear it either, even though Lois had already said it.

"As long as _you_ know it, honey." Mom laughed softly and put a hand on his arm. "That's the important thing."

"I do." He nodded.

"Keep that phrase in mind, son." General Lane stood up and walked out of the kitchen. "It may come in handy one of these days."

What phrase? He looked at his mother in curiosity and she raised her eyebrows at him as though to say, _'I think you know what he means.'_

'_Oh!' _He wished she didn't look so amused._ That _phrase.

"Go ahead and sit down, Clark." She nudged him toward the dining room. "I'll bring in the coffee."

He did as she asked and found Lois and her father sitting next to each other. They weren't saying anything, but the General looked pretty pleased. "Mom's bringing the coffee."

"Thank god." Lois sighed. "I need a refill."

"I don't know about that, Lo." Her father commented with a grin. "Too much always gave you the jitters."

'_It still does.' _Clark looked at Lois and tried not to smile because he knew she wouldn't appreciate it.

'_That's enough out of you, Smallville.' _Her answering frown warned him.

'_Okay.' _He agreed with a silent nod as his mother came in with the coffeepot and topped of everyone's mugs before returning it to the kitchen.

When she returned, she sat down next to Clark and then signaled that the platter be passed around.

"Take what you like." She encouraged. "There's plenty more."

"Now this is what I call breakfast." Lois's father commented as he filled his plate.

"I had to learn to cook that way for Jonathan." Her voice caught for a moment and Clark glanced over at his mother with concern. "Before we were married, I never understood how he could eat so much. But once I'd settled in and started following him around for a few days, I did. And when Clark started helping him-"

"You cooked enough to feed an army?" Lois's father commented with a chuckle.

"Something likes that." She smiled and started to fiddle with the napkin in her lap. Clark got the sense that she was trying to compose herself. And then she laughed softly. "I sometimes thought that my boys would eat us out of house and home."

"There were times that we tried." Clark replied and laid a hand over his mother's and she gave him a grateful look.

"Harvest time was always a challenge because not only did I have to feed you and your father, but the other men who came over to help."

"You still make the best fried chicken in Lowell County." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Mrs. Hubbard even said so."

"That's high praise." She demurred and then looked across the table. "So, did you both get what you wanted?"

"Everything is great, Mrs. Kent." Lois took a sip of her coffee and then bit down on a slice of bacon. "The bacon is slightly burnt, just the way it should be."

"You always did like things overdone." General Lane commented as he scooped up a forkful of eggs. "Your sister on the other hand, had to have everything just right."

"That reminds me of '_Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears_'." Mom laughed. "It was Clark's favorite story when he was little."

Lois's father nodded. "Ellen would read it to the girls every night. And it got to the point that she could recite it by heart."

"You didn't do such a bad job yourself, Dad." Lois commented after she took another sip of coffee. "You always made Lucy laugh when you did the voice of the baby bear."

"Don't remind me." He cleared his throat in embarrassment and speared a piece of sausage.

"Then you'd scare her half to death when you were Papa Bear." She shook her head and tried not to look to amused.

"And this is coming from the girl who'd pull the blankets over her head when I did." He gave her a look that told her he remembered more than she thought he did. "And too often you'd both end up sleeping with _me_ after that story."

"Lois?" Clark looked to her for confirmation and all she did was raise an eyebrow at him, her oh so subtle way of telling him not to say anything else.

So he didn't.

Part of the meal passed with a discussion of when Clark's mother and Lois's father were going to return to Washington.

General Lane was scheduled to fly out first thing in the morning. "There's a transport leaving from Fort Riley. So when we're done here, I need to go back into town and pack up so I can get there tonight."

It didn't look like Lois was expecting that and she turned to her father. "Leaving? You just got here."

"And now I have to go back." He told her. "You know the drill, Lo."

"I know." She nodded and drained the last of the coffee in her mug. "The Army comes first."

"But it doesn't mean that I always like it." He tried to get her to understand.

"I know." She said it again and then looked at him. "You have a job to do."

"That's it." He nodded and then looked at Clark's mother. "How about that tour now?"

He could see that Lois's father was clearly uncomfortable and wanted to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had developed.

"All right." Mom stood up. "But before we do that, I need to make that list for Clark so he and Lois can go."

"Let me help you with that, Mrs. K." Lois got up and followed her, leaving Clark and the General sitting at the table.

"It never gets easier." Her father commented. "I hated leaving the girls when they lived with me, but it was my job. And even though we don't live under the same roof anymore, it's _still_ hard."

"I'm sure she understands." _Clark Kent, diplomat._

"She does, but she doesn't like it." He sighed. "And frankly, I don't either. But that's the way it has to be until I retire. I'm just glad she found someone who can always be there for her."

_Most of the time._

"Lois will always come first." Clark told him truthfully. "Things get a little busy at the _Planet_ and around here, but that'll never change."

"I'm glad to hear that." He nodded his approval. "Lo needs someone who can do that for her because she deserves it."

Clark could see a father who clearly loved his daughter, he just didn't know how to show it.

"Smallville, if you're through jawing with my dad we need to get a move on." Lois's voice got his attention. "Your mom has a list about a mile long."

"It's not quite that bad, Lois." Clark heard his mother chuckle. "It's only a _half_ mile."

"So that means it'll take half as long?" She turned back to ask and Clark let out a silent sigh of relief because she was smiling.

"Get going now." Came the answer. "There's a possibility of snow later and I'd feel better knowing that you two were home if it does."

Clark stood up and took the list that Lois held out to him. It was long enough that they'd be able to get up to the Fortress and back into town to shop without raising any suspicion with Lois's father.

The General stood up and pointed toward the door. "You kids get going and I'll help with the K P duty."

"Dad?"

"Or you can stay here and do it yourselves." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "It's your choice."

"Going." She reached for Clark's sleeve and pulled him through the kitchen. She then stopped and turned around. "Will you still be here when we get back?"

"If I'm not, don't worry." He assured her. "I'll stop by before I head out of town."

"I'm counting on it." Lois seemed to be trying to get him to understand how important it was to her that he be there.

"I know, now go." Her father acknowledged it and motioned to the door again. "That grocery list isn't going to wait."

"Come on, Lois." Clark put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "The sooner we get into town, the sooner we get home."

She nodded and caught his eye before she walked to the front door and grabbed her jacket off the coat rack.

"Is there anything else you need us to do for you while we're in town?"

"That'll be enough." Mom shook her head and then put her hand on his cheek. "I hope you get the answer you're looking for." She whispered.

"Me, too." He whispered back.

Clark smiled at her and then walked through the living room to join Lois, who was waiting for him. He took his jacket from her waiting hand and as soon as he shrugged into it, she opened the door and stepped outside.

He followed her out and closed the door behind them and was surprised when Lois slipped her hand into his. She wasn't about to tell him that she was expecting to be disappointed when they got back, but the fact that she was grasping his fingers so tightly told him so.

"I'll drive out to the caves and park there." He suggested as he walked her to his truck and opened her door. "That way we won't attract any attention."

"Okay." She answered him without a smart remark as she got in and sat down. That concerned him because it wasn't like Lois to pass up on an opportunity to needle him. But he understood why and squeezed her hand. "Clark?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." She kept a hold of his hand.

"For what?"

"For not trying to convince me that he'll be here." She answered before she sighed. "I _know_ he will, but a small part of me can't help think that he won't."

"I think he understands that, Lois." Clark ran a thumb across her knuckles. "And he doesn't want to be responsible for disappointing you again. So let's go talk to Jor-El and get the shopping done."

Her answer to that was to lean over and kiss him.

_He liked those kinds of answers from her._

She didn't say anything else until they reached the Kawatche caves and he made another offer to use the portal and again she refused. So he picked her up in his arms and gave her some last minute instructions. "Hold on tight and if you need me to stop for any reason, tell me. I'll be able to hear you."

"Okay." She nodded her understanding and looked a little nervous. "Let's go."

And they were gone.

It took a little longer than it normally did, with Lois in his arms, but he still made good time. Clark set her down just outside the Fortress and she took his hand, while she shoved the other in her pocket.

He led her inside and gave her the time to take in what she was seeing; the look of wonder and awe on her face made him smile. He couldn't seem to help ask. "So what do you think?"

"When the LuthorCorp jet went down, your mom and I ended up in the Artic." Her answering smile made his face flush. "This is the place I thought was Heaven."

"I never used to think so." He admitted with a shrug.

"You were just looking at it from the wrong perspective." She chided him. "This is a very peaceful place."

"_Kal-El." _

Time for the introductions.

"Jor-El, I've brought someone I want you to meet."

"_Lois Lane." _

"Yes." Should it have surprised him that Jor-El knew?

"_She is the light that has illuminated the darkness." _He stated and Clark couldn't disagree. But then he was stunned with his father's next statement. _"And she will be the vessel for your offspring." _

"How do you know?" Lois spoke up and to Clark's surprise, Jor-El answered her.

"_When Kal-El was reborn, he was delivered to his mate." _

She gave Clark a nervous glance and then her brow furrowed in confusion. "Who, me?"

"_Yes, Lois Lane; you." _

"How is that possible when we didn't know each other?"

"_Only when he was returned would you come to know him."_

"So if he hadn't been reborn, we never would have met." She glanced at him again.

"_That was never a possibility." _Jor-El stated and one word floated through Clark's mind. _Destiny. _

The one word he used to hate.

"Are you saying that Lois and I were always meant to be together?" Even Clark was having some difficulty believing that.

"_You were meant to be with the one who would help you in your destiny, Kal-El. But for too long you would not see."_

He couldn't argue with that.

"_But with that discovery, your destiny can now be fulfilled." _

"Which is?" Leave it to Jor-El to be so vague.

"_What Lara and I hoped for you." _He replied. _"To find your true mate, to know the joy of children and to use your abilities to help the people of Earth."_

"So Clark and I _can_ have children?" She was asking for confirmation.

"_The House of El will continue." _Jor-El gave it to her.

"Okay." She took a deep breath and seemed to understand the enormity of that information because to his complete surprise, Lois' knees gave out and Clark had to move fast to catch her before she hit the ice floor.

He picked her up in his arms and wasn't sure who was shaking more, Lois or himself. "Let's get you back to the truck and we can talk more about it there."

She put her head down on his shoulder and nodded.

"Honey, are you all right?"

"Just get me out of here, please." She pressed a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw. "If you don't, my brain's going to explode."

"Hang on." Clark told her and sped them out of the Fortress.

He got her back to Smallville and stopped at his truck. She kept a tight hold around his neck and was still shaking. "As cool as that was, I don't think I want to do that again for awhile." She finally said. "It's kind of a head rush."

"When you're ready to go again, we'll make it a shorter trip." He tried to set her down on her feet, but she shook her head.

"Don't let go."

Clark was starting to get worried. Lois wasn't the clingy type and she was hanging on to him as though he was the one thing that was keeping her from drowning. "I'll hold you as long as you want me to."

He shifted her in his arms so he could get her door open. And when he did, he sat down on the passenger seat, holding her in his lap. The shaking was starting to subside, but he was still concerned.

Lois wasn't talking and that wasn't like her. She should have been talking his ear off, lobbing endless questions at him but she wasn't. Something wasn't quite right and he had no idea what the problem could be.

"Clark?"

"What is it?" He asked quietly as he brushed a soft hand across her back to try and soothe her.

"I never used to think about kids until we had those dreams." She finally said. "And now we've been given a green light that it can actually happen."

He wasn't sure he liked where she was headed. Had she changed her mind because now was a real possibility? "Lois, is there something you're not telling me?"

She nodded again.

"Is it something I should know?"

_They were playing twenty questions. _

"Since it involves you, I'd say so." She sighed and his skin tingled at the feel of her warm breath on his neck.

"Just tell me."

"I had a dream last night." Her voice had dropped to a whisper. "We had another baby."

_Three? _

"Just when we were getting used to two." He shouldn't have smiled, but he couldn't help it. It felt as though his life had finally fallen into place and in ways he'd never expected it would. "So was it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know." He felt Lois shake her head. "I woke up before we found out."

"We didn't know before?"

"Obviously not." _Was she laughing? _"I guess there's only one way we will."

"Is that an invitation?" He asked, being certain a punch in the arm was about to follow.

_It didn't._

"Not yet." She snuggled against him. "But you never know when that might change."

"I'll remember that." Clark pressed a kiss to her hair.

"Trust me, Smallville; when the time comes you'll remember. I'll make sure of it."

"I'm sure you will." His heart fluttered at the very idea.

"You _know_ I will." She promised and then leaned back in his arms. "But in the meantime, why don't you get me home so I can say goodbye to Dad."

"Your wish is my command."

"I'll remember that."

"I'll make sure of it." He smiled. And before Lois had a chance to reply-

He kissed her.


	28. The Story of a Lifetime

It should have been a simple matter of shopping for groceries.

They should have just gone into the market and followed his mother's list, buying everything she'd requested, but not Lois.

Instead, she'd torn the list in two and handed him one half of it, declaring the race on. He called after her in protest as she grabbed a shopping cart and hurried away, but all she did was laugh.

And as she disappeared around the corner of one of the aisles, he was smiling; he couldn't help it.

This _was_ Lois after all.

She rushed around the market with a military precision that impressed him, while Clark deliberately took his time. He could have finished before her if he'd chosen to discreetly use his super speed, but he knew she'd call him on using an advantage she didn't have.

But all the while she would be scolding him, she'd have a smile on her face.

By the time he got to the checkout counter, Lois's groceries were purchased, bagged and in her cart. She gave him a look of feigned annoyance and sighed. "You're no fun, Smallville."

"It's part of my charm, Lois. You should know that by now." He chuckled as the groceries were scanned, bagged and at his request, put in Lois's cart. Between what she had and what he'd just bought, Clark wasn't going to starve; his mother was going to make sure of that.

"I also know that we need to work on our story at some point today." She reminded him and he nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Why did everything that was happening with them seem to lead back to that story?

He had to admit though, that if it hadn't been for Tess handing them that fluff piece, Clark might not have Lois as anything more than his friend or his desk mate in the _Daily Planet_ basement. And she wouldn't know how much he loved her.

For that matter, he wouldn't know how much she loved him, either.

"How about this?" He walked out of the market with Lois, who had rebuffed his offer to take the cart, insisting that she would push the cart to his truck. "After your dad leaves and we stock the pantry for my mom, we'll sit down and finish it."

"You know what sounds even better? _I'll _finish the story while _you_ put everything away." She laughed. "It would go a lot faster that way."

"True." He found himself agreeing with her. "_But_- it would be a lot more fun if you helped me."

"Planning on a little necking, are we?" She teased him as her face flushed and Clark reached for her fingers to squeeze them.

"You'll have to help me to find out."

"Well, I don't have much choice then. Do I?" She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss. "The things I do for you."

"You always have a choice, Lois." He kissed her back. "But I'd sure appreciate it."

"I've never kissed a guy in a pantry before." She grabbed one of the grocery bags and set it down in the bed of the truck.

"Now's your chance." He pulled another bag out of the cart and set it down next to Lois's.

"Can't wait." She winked at him and before he gave into the urge to grab her right there and kiss her until her knees gave out, because he knew he could do it, he got another bag and loaded it into the truck.

After they finished emptying the cart and while he secured a tarp over the bags so nothing would blow out of the bed on the way home, Lois took it back to the front of the market.

It crossed his mind briefly that she was the only girl he knew who would bother.

While he waited for Lois to come back, Clark got into the truck and put the key into the ignition. When he saw her approach the passenger door, he started the engine and after she got in, she smiled at him. "You weren't going to leave me here_. _Were you, Smallville?"

"I was considering it." He shrugged innocently as he headed out of the parking lot.

"Just checking." She quipped before she moved over and sat next to him, shoulder to shoulder. He really liked that, so he reached for her hand and held it firmly in his.

_He really liked that, too._

They rode quietly all the way back to the house and Clark felt such a sense of contentment when her head went down on his shoulder. It was such a change from the days when she would flinch from his very touch.

There had always been a silent, 'no-touching' rule between them, except for the occasional punch in the arm from her. But Lois would insist that that was different.

He heard her sigh as they turned down the road toward the house and all he saw was Dad's truck. "He's probably checking out and just hasn't gotten back yet."

"I know." She sat up and looked up at him. "It was just a reflex."

"I know." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "So let's get the bags in the house and unpacked before he comes back."

"You're just itching to get in there, aren't you?" She squeezed his hand, then opened her door and hopped out. "Let's get a move on."

'_Your wish is my command.' _He thought as she shut down the engine and opened his own door.

"Clark, did you really have to knot these?" He heard the irritated question.

"They're slipknots, Lois." He looked across the back of the truck at her. "Just tug on the end of the line."

She did as he suggested and the knot came loose. "Oh."

He wisely chose not to comment as he loosened his side of the tarp and tossed it toward the back of the truck. The sound of the front door opening got his attention and Clark saw his mother come outside. "Thank you for doing that." She stepped off the porch and walked toward them. "Let me take one of those for you so I can start putting things away before your father gets here."

"Was he suspicious about anything after we left?" Lois asked as she got a bag in one arm and grabbed for another.

Mom shook her head as she held out her arms and Clark handed her a bag. "Not suspicious, but he did seem a little curious. I can see where you get that from, Lois."

"Among other things." She looked at Clark's mother.

"Don't sell yourself short, honey." Mom turned back for the house. "I never have."

The look of surprise on Lois's face surprised him. Clark thought Lois knew how highly his mother thought of her. "Not that you ever needed it, but you now have the official Martha Kent seal of approval."

"She really doesn't know me, does she?"

"Lois, I think Mom knows you better than you give her credit for." He disagreed and pulled the last two grocery bags out of the truck and followed his mother.

"I give her credit for putting up with me." She tossed back and he sighed quietly. For a girl with so much confidence in her writing and investigative skills, when it came to anything personal, she was anything but.

"Then you don't know my mom very well either, because she doesn't 'put up' with anything." He stepped up on the porch and waited for Lois. "She sees a lot of herself in you."

"And how do you figure that?" Lois looked at him with a frown as she walked into the house and with a push of his elbow, Clark closed the front door.

"Because I'm not the only city girl who fell for a farm boy." Mom answered her as they headed for the kitchen and put the bags down on the island. "As you've already discovered, the Kent men _are_ irresistible."

"Not that she tried that hard." He couldn't resist the urge and as expected, his mother and Lois gave him an exasperated look. "What? She didn't."

"Clark." They scolded in tandem and all he did was smile. His two favorite girls were under the same roof with him for one last day and he was going to make the most of it.

"I know Jonathan and I raised you better than that." His mother added and as she turned for the sink; Clark would bet a week's salary that she was smiling.

"You did." He glanced at Lois and motioning with a tip of his head toward the pantry, he picked up one of the bags he'd just put down. "We'll take care of this for you. You shouldn't be putting groceries away on your last day at home."

Mom wasn't fooled because when she turned around, he got a knowing look from her. _'You are just like your father.'_

Clark felt his face flush as he acknowledged that fact with a nod. _'I know.'_

"Well get going now. Those bags won't empty themselves." Her head dipped and he again got the feeling that she was laughing. "And try not to get too distracted."

"He'll make sure we do, Mrs. K." Lois' own face was flushed as she grabbed for a bag and walked through the kitchen and around the corner, out of sight.

"Don't keep her waiting." Mom picked up a basket and headed to the back door. "The hens laid some eggs earlier. So while I have some time, I'm going to collect them."

"Okay." He tried to sound casual about it, but he knew what that meant. _They'd have some privacy._

He silently thanked his mother as she stepped outside and softly closed the door. He didn't know how much time they had, but he wasn't going to waste it finding out.

Lois was up on her toes, reaching for a shelf that was just out of her reach and he stood in the doorway, just watching. It didn't hurt matters that he could see some bare skin between her jeans and her blouse.

His face flushed again at the knowledge of how soft her skin was and how warm it was to his touch. "Are you going to stand there staring at me or are you going to help?"

Her voice was amused and he shrugged as he approached her, slipped the can out of her hand and set it on the shelf. His other hand slipped around her waist and came to rest on her bare abdomen. "What would you _like_ me to do?"

"Where's your mom?" Lois sounded breathless as he crowded her and could hear the rushing sound of her heartbeat begin to accelerate.

"Outside." His own voice sounded suspiciously like a growl. "She's collecting eggs the hens laid earlier this morning."

"Oh." She leaned back against him and dropped her head to his shoulder. "So that means we have the house to ourselves."

"Not for long." He brushed her ear with his lips and whispered. "So we should probably make the most of it."

His fingers skimmed her skin and her breath caught as his hand continued to move before he felt a trembling hand on his, halting it's progress upward and her soft voice admonished him. "Really, Smallville. Here?"

_That wasn't exactly what he had in mind. _

At least not yet.

"Not _that_, Lois." He brushed her ear again. "But I didn't think you'd object to some preliminaries."

"What is it with you and preliminaries?" Her laugh sounded nervous and that made him bolder.

"Because they can be just as much fun as the main event." He whispered again and then turned her around so he could see her. She'd started to tremble, but Lois' eyes had a sparkle in them that they seemed to hold only for him and her face was rosy with a blush.

"You know how to sweet talk a girl, don't you?" Her hands came to rest on his chest and Clark wondered if she could feel how her touch was affecting him.

"Only you." He admitted as his hand found the small of her back to press her close so he could kiss her. Her lips parted before she could get her arms around his neck and he accepted her invitation to deepen their kiss.

It was the moment he'd been waiting for since he'd found her asleep at the _Talon _earlier that morning. He'd been tempted to join her on the bed and wake her with feather kisses, but instead he'd wakened her with fresh coffee.

The feel of her fingers toying with his hair and her tongue teasing his made him a little reckless and he propelled her back against the wall of the pantry and pulled her body closer against his.

Her soft sigh let him know that she approved of what he was doing and she upped the ante when she pressed her hips against his. Clark's hand slipped down to her backside to keep her there and if it were ever possible to feel a girl melt in your arms, Lois was doing just that.

And it thrilled him to know that he was the guy providing the heat to do it.

He was so focused on the sounds of their heartbeats thrumming in time together and their breaths becoming more labored the longer he held her, that he didn't hear the sound of the back door opening or the voices of their parents until he heard his mother.

"_They're stocking the pantry."_

"_Is that what they told you? And you believed them?" _General Lane's amused chuckle made him start and her sigh. _"At the rate they're going, it's going to take the rest of the day."_

If they were lucky.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" Lois held him close, not ready to let him go just yet. So she gave him another kiss that made _him_ melt, before she uncoiled her arms from around his neck and gently pushed him away. "Well, since he obviously knows what's going on, I'll run interference while you unpack the bags. Then at least we can truthfully say that we did stock the pantry."

He was so distracted by the rise and fall of her chest as she tried to catch her breath that all he could do was nod. "You really are sweet." Lois reached up and brushed a thumb against his lips. "And I'd rather you face my dad without the evidence of what we were doing."

_Her lipstick._

He nodded again and she smiled at him. "Not that he doesn't already know it."

Clark reached up and put a hand on her cheek, not wanting to let her out of his sight. "Your dad's a smart guy."

"Yeah, he is." She leaned up and kissed him again. "But he's got a plane to catch, so I don't want to keep him waiting."

"I'll be out in a minute." He promised her and dropped his hand before she stepped back.

"You know, Smallville." She quirked an eyebrow at him. "If this was your idea of preliminaries, I can't wait to see what happens when we finally-" Her face flamed red and she shrugged her shoulders before turning around and walking out.

'_Me, either.' _

"_Hi, Dad." _He heard Lois's voice as she greeted her father in the kitchen.

"_There she is." _Came the answer. _"You were in there for awhile."_

"_Not that you would know that." _To her credit she didn't sound defensive, but just as amused as he did._ "We had a lot to put away." _

"_You're all finished?" _Mom sounded a little surprised and Clark grinned.

"_Not quite." _Lois told her. _"Smallville said he'd finish up while I came out here to say goodbye to Dad."_

That was his cue to put on some super speed and moments later, he folded the last of the paper bags and put it away. He closed the pantry door behind him and met Lois, his mother and General Lane in the kitchen.

"Thank you for doing that, honey." Mom put her hand on his arm, looking pretty amused herself. "You _and_ Lois."

"If it means you won't worry that I don't have anything to eat, I was glad to." He hugged her.

"I may be a senator. But when it's just the two of us, I'm still your mom." She patted his back and he let her go. She then turned her attention to Lois's father. "Would you like anything to eat before you go? It won't take me a minute."

"Thank you anyway, Martha. But I can stop at the base mess before I fly out." He looked at his watch. "I do appreciate the offer, though."

"Time to bug out?" Lois asked as Clark moved to stand behind her.

The General nodded reluctantly. "I want to be back in Washington by dark and that transport won't wait."

"I understand." Lois replied and Clark put a hand on her shoulder in support. She'd never say it, but she didn't particularly want him to go.

'_I can't be left behind one more time.' _

"I know you do, Lo. And it's why you were always my good little soldier." He sighed with a frown. "But if you wouldn't mind a visit from your old man every once in awhile, I'd like to come back."

Clark couldn't know how much it cost Lois' father to say that. He had always been, first and foremost, a soldier. But it seemed that the closer he got to retirement, he'd decided to try and be more of a father.

"I'd like that." It cost her some to say that, too.

"Why don't you come back for Thanksgiving, then?" Mom offered and the General looked a little startled at the request. "I plan on being home this year and there's always plenty."

He seemed to hesitate, but then looked at Lois. "If it means I get a chance to see my daughter, I'd like that."

"Then it's all settled." She smiled as he looked at his watch again. "Lois, why don't you walk your father out to his car so he can get going. Clark, if you'd help me get lunch started, that would be a big help."

"Sure, Mom." He watched as Lois tucked her hand through her father's arm and walked him to the front door and step outside.

"Clark." There was a note of warning in her voice and she must have known what had crossed his mind. "Let them have their privacy. She's going to tell you about it anyway."

True.

"I always believed that he loved her." Clark commented. "He just didn't know how to show her."

"He never got the chance." Mom opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a jar of mayonnaise, mustard and a head of lettuce, then handed them to Clark. "He was left with two children to raise while trying to do his job. And it didn't help matters that he had to be away so much." She then pulled out several packages of lunchmeats, a small onion and tomato. "He never had a real chance to get to know them or be a proper father to them."

"You know, I look at the relationship Lois has with her dad and it makes me appreciate even more the relationship I had with _my_ dad."

"The highlight of his day was to have you working with him because he knew that one day you wouldn't be there. Instead, you'd be using your abilities to help people the way he always wanted you to."

"He told me more than once that I wasn't meant to be a farmer." Clark remembered those conversations. "He all but told me that I couldn't be."

"When you were younger, I know you didn't understand why he was so insistent. He just always believed that you were meant for more than this, the life of a farmer. But it seems to me that you've found a way to do both and there's a contentment in you I've never seen before."

_That's because he was_, and Lois had a lot to do with it.

"When you left to go to Washington, you told me that just because you were leaving didn't mean that I had to stay." He reminded her. "But I _did_, because this farm has been in Dad's family for generations and I wasn't about to let it go. What I didn't think about was how unhappy I would be or how isolated I would feel. Not even having Lana here made it any better."

"You were trapped in a life you didn't particularly want, out of loyalty to your father and sharing that life with someone you were never meant to share your life with."

"I think I knew that even then, but I was so sure it was what my life was supposed to be." Clark had a hard time admitting that because he now knew his dad was right; he was meant for more than being a farmer. But it didn't mean it still couldn't be a part of his life.

"Your life now is what it's supposed to be, honey." She got a paring knife and started to slice the tomato. "You honor your dad by looking after this place and you have a job as a reporter that you obviously enjoy. You get to use your abilities to help people and the icing on the cake is that you let Lois into your heart."

"I still don't know how that happened." He tried to keep a straight face, but his mother wasn't buying it.

"You know as well as I do that it was just a matter of time." Mom gave him a stern look. "From the moment you two met, there was a spark that I never saw with anyone else. And in spite of the fact that you tried to convince people that you didn't particularly like each other, you became good friends."

"I still don't know how that happened." Lois called from the front doorway and she was laughing; she must have heard him. "I guess Smallville has a way of growing on people."

"I'd think that would be pretty obvious, Lois." He shot back and a moment later; Lois walked into his arms. She held him close and he could feel her trembling a little. "Everything okay?"

She nodded and then looked up into his eyes. "I didn't think it would be that hard to say goodbye to him."

"He may be rough around the edges, but he does love you." Mom commented quietly. "And he's so proud of what you've accomplished with your life."

"I know." She sighed and pulled out of Clark's arms. "He said he'd call me when he got back to Washington. But in the meantime, I'm hungry."

"Lois, you're-" _always hungry. _But the comment went uncompleted because Lois knew him too well.

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence." Her hands were on her hips and she tried her best to look indignant.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He tried his best to look innocent and he knew Lois didn't believe him.

"Whatever." She turned to the island, where Mom had laid out all the fixings and made herself a sandwich.

ooooo

The next morning, it was Clark's turn to say goodbye to his mother.

There hadn't been any discussion about what her plans were for her senate seat, so Clark took that to mean she hadn't made a decision. And as tempted as he was to ask, he knew she'd tell him when there was something to say.

They stood at the departure gate at Metropolis International Airport, last call just having been announced for his mother's flight. She'd delayed boarding for as long as she could, but it was time to go.

Her departures were always difficult, but this one even more so.

Things in his life were finally going in the right direction and he wanted Lois to have the mother figure she'd been deprived of growing up. The fact was, he wanted Mom to be a part of his happiness.

Because Lois did make him happy, happier than he felt he deserved sometimes.

His mother handed the gate attendant her boarding pass and Clark and Lois walked her to the doors. "If you can talk Lois into staying for dinner there's something in the refrigerator, all you have to do is heat it up."

"Mom, the last thing you need to be worrying about is dinner."

"Mrs. Kent, we really need to seat you now." The gate attendant interrupted quietly and she looked at Clark and Lois. "I'm sorry."

"Have a safe trip." Clark got his arms around her and hugged her tight.

"I'll call you when I get there." She promised with a soft pat on his back. He let her go and then she had Lois in a close embrace. "Look after this son of mine. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders."

"I will, Mrs. Kent. Don't worry about that." Lois let her go and his mother stepped through the door and turned to wave at them before it was closed behind her.

Clark sighed as he stared at the closed door and then felt Lois's hand slip into his. "Would you mind if we stay until she takes off?"

"We'll stay as long as you want." Came her soft reply and he squeezed her hand before leading her to the window next to the departure gate.

It didn't take long for the ramp to start pulling back from the door of the jet and the engines begin to power up. He wasn't fully aware that he'd tightened his hold on Lois's hand until he felt her other hand come up and grasp his arm in support. "This is always the hard part."

He could only nod as he saw the ramp fully retract and the plane slowly began to move forward. He listened to the traffic between the aircraft and the tower as his mother's flight was guided away from the terminal and toward their runway. And then he heard her quiet voice. _"Get to work now."_

He squeezed Lois' hand again and laughed. "Mom said to get to work, so we'd better go."

"Are you okay?" She sounded concerned as he walked with her away from the window, but stopped short of leaving. He turned and waited a few more minutes until he heard the engines rev up again as the plane taxied down the runway and then it was airborne.

"I'm okay." He assured her with a smile. "I just wanted to make sure she got in the air."

"Your mother is amazing, you know?" Lois commented as they made their way downstairs to the exit. "She has to get ready to catch a flight back to Washington, but she still has time to make dinner for you."

"For _us_." He corrected her. "That is if I can talk you to coming home with me after work."

"Just try to talk me out of it." She tugged on his hand. "Come on. I'd really like to get that story turned in so we can move on to some real reporting."

Clark let her lead him out of the terminal and toward short term parking, where Lois had left her car. All though she'd let him drive, she'd insisted that they take his mother in her car.

It didn't take them long to get to the _Planet_ and for Lois to direct him to her parking space. It technically wasn't hers, but since she always managed to grab it before anyone else, it had become hers by default.

Walking into the building was an odd experience because it made him think of the last time he'd been gone. It was the same sensation of feeling as though he'd been gone for a long time but at the same time, feeling as though he'd only been there the day before.

Randall must have been keeping an eye out for them because no sooner had Clark hung his jacket around the back of his chair and Lois put her purse on her desk, that he walked into the basement and straight to their desks.

"Don't get comfortable." He was succinct. "You're wanted upstairs."

"Tess?" Lois asked and Clark could see the look of irritation on her face.

"That's it, so get moving." He turned to walk back toward his office and then tossed over his shoulder. "Nice to have you back."

She looked across her desk at Clark and frowned. "I wonder what Cruella wants with us. We already emailed her the story."

"Let's get upstairs and find out." He shrugged as though to tell her _'I don't have a clue.'_ and walked toward the elevator. It was with a sense of deja vu, that he pushed the call button and waited for Lois and the elevator car.

"You're too calm about this, Smallville." Lois remarked as she came to a stop beside him. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I'm calm because you're worked up enough for the both of us." He answered just as the elevator door opened and he waited for her to step on before he followed her. He then pushed the call button for the executive floor and the doors closed.

"You could stand to get a little worked up yourself sometimes, Clark." She folded her arms across her chest and looked straight ahead, obviously annoyed with him.

"The only thing I find worth getting worked up over, Lois is you." He folded his hands in front of him and smiled.

"Oh." She didn't seem to expect that, but adjusted quickly when he suddenly found her shoulder to shoulder with him. "So what do you say to getting a little worked up on our way up?"

_Necking in the elevator? _He liked that idea, but-

"How about we get worked up on the way down, after the elevator gets stuck?" He presented his idea to her.

"Should I ask how that's going to happen?" She glanced up at him and her face was flushed.

"I'll surprise you." He answered with a brush of his lips against hers. "But how about a preview?"

An enthusiastic nod from her was all he needed and he crowed her into the corner of the elevator to give her just that.

When the car came to a stop a few moments later, Clark was tightening his tie and Lois was tucking her loose blouse into her skirt as the doors opened. She was the first one off and as he stepped off behind her, she commented quietly. "Sometimes I swear you have more than two hands."

"Speak for yourself." He answered back just as quietly. "Not that I'm complaining."

"As if you ever would." Lois took his arm and they walked together until they got to Tess's office and she dropped her hand. "Let's get this over with."

She opened the door and Tess was sitting behind her desk, with a look that Clark wasn't sure he liked. "There _is_ such a thing as knocking, Lane."

"What do you want, Tess? I've got a week's worth of work to catch up on, no thanks to you." Lois cut to the chase and again folded her arms across her chest. "You've got our story, so what else do you need from us? Our signatures in blood?"

"As tempting as that is, no." She sat back. "Besides, Kent might have a little trouble with that."

_She knew, or she _thought _she knew. _

"What do you want?"

"To thank you for your hard work, of course." She was practically purring and that was making Clark uncomfortably nervous. "Though spending someone else's money for a week in a hotel suite couldn't have been that hard."

"So let me guess, we're on the hook for the room service meals?"

"Not at all." She was getting at something and Clark wasn't sure he liked where she was going. "But as it turns out, it was an expense the _Planet_ didn't need to incur."

"What are you talking about?" Clark asked her and waited for the answer.

"We're not going to run the story." _And there it was. _"After I finished reading it, I forwarded your piece to the _Planet_'s lawyers earlier this morning to look over. And it was their considered opinion that it could leave us open to liability."

"How?" Lois took a step forward. "We had nothing but good things to say about the _Regent_."

"Lane, if it were ever to get out that we sent reporters undercover, we could be accused of playing favorites and that could get us sued."

"Well don't you think you should have thought of that before you cooked up this scheme?" She was understandably agitated.

"It was a perfectly legitimate story. But I admit that I should have cleared it with the lawyers first." Tess was unrepentant and seemed to be enjoying Lois's ire. "But it's better we found this out now instead of after the story went to print."

"So, is that it?" Lois asked. "I've got things to do."

"I'm surprised, Lois. You're taking this very well." It was almost as though Tess was goading her and Clark didn't like it. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't mind this assignment."

"Believe me, she let me know what she thought of it." Clark stepped in, not wanting to give Tess any more ammunition.

"You _did_ seem to come out of it unscathed, Kent." She turned her attention on him and didn't hesitate to give him an unwelcome appraisal. "That's quite a feat coming from you."

"I know it doesn't look like it, but I can handle Lois." Clark knew he was taking his life in his hands saying something like that. But he hoped she'd understand he was only doing it to get her out of the room before Tess figured out what was really going on between them.

"You did not just say that." Lois turned on _him_ and from the look on her face, he couldn't tell if she were truly upset with him or playing along. "You can't even handle that stupid tractor that's been sitting useless in your barn for forever."

She turned on her heel and high tailed it for the door, slamming it behind her. Clark sighed, as he figured Tess would expect and ran a hand through his hair.

"She's quite a firecracker, isn't she?"

It was a good thing Lois was out of earshot because that would have sent her through the roof. "She's independent and headstrong. She's been that way ever since I've known her."

"She means a lot to you."

_Red flag, Clark. _Proceed with all due caution.

"She's my friend." It was all he would volunteer. Anything more was none of her business. "If there isn't anything else, I'd like to get back downstairs."

"You can go." Tess inclined her head toward the door and Clark didn't waste any time in walking away from her desk. He opened the door but just before he closed it, she gave him a parting shot. "But just so you and Lane are aware, the _Planet_ frowns on work place relationships."

_Well, what the Planet didn't know wouldn't hurt it._

"_Clark, if your through with the Dragon Lady, we still have a date in a stuck elevator." _He heard Lois, but didn't see her anywhere in the small lobby. _"Look for the Out of Order sign on the door."_

He had to hand it to her; she knew how to think on her feet. And sure enough, one of the elevators had a 'Out of Order' sign on it. He walked close to the door and knocked on it. "Lois?"

They opened a moment later and a hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him in. Then no sooner did she get him inside that she pushed the 'Close' button and as soon as the doors closed, she got her arms around his neck.

"I suppose that you've got another sign down in the basement?" He smiled at her and got his arms around her waist.

"What do you take me for, Smallville?" She asked. "In the short amount of time I had to plan this, I made sure all my bases were covered."

"And now you're plan is to get _me_ to first base?"

"Definitely." She smiled back at him. "And if you're very good, maybe even second."

"Really?" _Was she serious?_

"There's only one way to find out." She leaned up and her smile grew. "So what do you say, Slugger?"

"Batter up?" He laughed and then she kissed him.


	29. So Much to Be Thankful For

It shouldn't have been that difficult.

_Seriously. _

Was it too much to ask for ten uninterrupted minutes with her boyfriend, without being sidelined by the Blur or a hot tip from her informant?

_Boyfriend_. That was still taking some getting used to, but Lois knew it was inevitable that their relationship would take on that formality. And even though she forbid him to call her his girlfriend and she refused to call him her boyfriend, she'd never been happier.

Once his mother had gone back to Washington, Lois knew he was feeling the effects of her absence. He'd gone from what he'd teasingly referred to as a house full of women, to living by himself again.

It didn't help matters that things with Clark and Chloe were still strained.

Their long friendship non-withstanding, she'd invaded his privacy _and_ Lois's in such a way that he didn't feel he could trust her. He'd told Lois that it didn't bother him so much about Chloe keeping an eye on _him_, as spying on _her_.

She'd found them in a very intense conversation in the deserted basement of the _Planet_ one late evening after Mrs. Kent had left Smallville. She couldn't hear what they'd been talking about but she did hear Clark tell her, _"Playing Big Brother with me is one thing, but my girlfriend is off limits.'_

It was the first time she'd heard him call her that, even though they hadn't made any such agreement. The fact was, she'd never heard him sound so possessive.

For her part, Chloe was insistent that it was her job to keep tabs on all members of the team, which included him. But Clark was just as insistent that it _wasn't _her job.

'_Chloe, I've got Lois and my mom for that.' _He'd told her and she'd looked incredulous.

'_Lois?' _Chloe had looked genuinely puzzled. _'Clark, she can barely take care herself. How can you reasonably expect her to take care of you?'_

'_We take care of each other.' _He'd told her and the soft smile on his face made Lois' heart melt. _'She keeps me human and I keep her from jumping into trouble every three seconds.'_

Every _two_ seconds, actually.

'_But you're not human.' _She'd stated the obvious. _'And you seem to forget that sometimes.'_

'_How can I forget when you keep reminding me?' _He'd scolded her gently. _'Chloe, I know I'm not human. But for the first fifteen years of my life, I thought I was and I can't just let that go.'_

'_You mean you won't.' _She'd sounded so disappointed in him. Lois had wanted so much to tell her cousin that for Clark to deny his humanity would be to deny part of who he was.

But Clark had done it for her.

'_You're right.' _He'd answered quickly. _'I tried that already and it didn't work. I may not have been born human, but I was raised as one. And if I denied my humanity again, it would be denying the two people who raised me as their son.'_

'_And that would mean denying what you feel for my cousin.' _She'd folded her arms across her chest. _'Just what do you feel for her, Clark?'_

His silence had spoken volumes to Lois and to Chloe who stepped back in surprise. '_Really? Times have changed, haven't they?'_

More silence and even Lois had been surprised. For too long, Clark had worn his heart on his sleeve and all he could do was talk about how he felt about Lana. But when it came to his feelings for _her_, he was keeping them to himself.

Her farm boy had finally grown up.

Clark's quip about living by himself stuck with Lois, and she tried to spend as much time as she could out at the farm. But it didn't really matter much because he seemed to be gone as much as he was home.

She'd never say it of course, because Metropolis and the world needed the Blur. But the longer she and Clark continued dating, a small part of her wanted to tell him to give the Blur the night off every once in awhile and let Oliver shoulder more of the load.

But she wouldn't do it because she'd be asking Clark to deny his Kryptonian side, just as Chloe thought he should deny his human side.

And she wasn't about to do that to him.

It certainly didn't help things when he _would_ be home. It would begin to look like they might be able to settle into a quiet evening together before her cell would ring and she'd be out the door chasing down a lead.

_It just sucked. _

A few weeks after she heard the conversation between Clark and Chloe, his mother and Lois's father were back in Smallville for Thanksgiving. Chloe had been invited to spend the day with them, but she chose to spend the day with her father.

She hadn't really spent much time with him since he'd left Smallville, and felt that it was time they had some father/daughter time together. Lois accepted the explanation without trying to talk her out of it, but she couldn't help but wonder if her cousin's refusal had something to do with her tense relationship with Clark.

A refusal to an invitation had also come from Oliver, but for a completely different reason. He and Clark had had a long talk and settled their differences and for Lois, she was glad at least one of Clark's friendships had been repaired.

But Ollie's refusal came because he was going to be spending Thanksgiving with the girl who'd been with him at the _Regent_. He seemed to be settling down a little and Lois couldn't be happier for him, or relieved.

Mrs. Kent came home two days before Thanksgiving and Dad flew in the day before, so it looked like it was going to be the Lane's and the Kent's for Thanksgiving dinner. At Mrs. Kent's invitation, Dad was invited to stay at the house, but as it had been in October he'd chosen to stay at the _Smallville Inn_ again.

He was insistent that he wasn't going to get in the way and even with Clark's assurance that he wouldn't, Lois's father refused to budge or give up his room.

When she wasn't at the _Planet_, Lois was spending all of her spare time at the farm helping Clark's mother. It amazed her that Mrs. Kent actually trusted her with a measuring cup, telling her that if she were going to learn how to cook, she was going to have to start somewhere.

And by mid-afternoon on Thanksgiving day, everything was just about ready to go.

_The things she did for the Kent's._

"Lois, why don't you go lie down for awhile?" Lois felt Mrs. Kent's gentle hand on her shoulder. "You've been here since seven o'clock and you look beat."

"And you look fresh as a daisy." Lois smiled at her. "How is that?"

"Because I've done this for more Thanksgivings than I can remember." She smiled back. "And it's so much easier now than it used to be, that's how. _You_ on the other hand are a little new at this and I'd like you to be able to enjoy the day tomorrow because we won't have to worry about the turkey. That was always Jonathan's responsibility and when Clark was old enough, his father started showing _him_ how to roast the perfect turkey."

"So we're depending on Smallville for that?"

"Don't sell him short, Lois." Mrs. Kent shook her head. "The turkey we had the Thanksgiving after Jonathan died was Clark's doing. And from what I understand, you don't seem to complain with anything he feeds you."

"I don't complain because I don't have to cook." Lois lowered her head so Mrs. Kent wouldn't see her smile, but the older woman wasn't fooled.

"You don't complain because you like having someone around to take care of you." She replied and tipped Lois' chin up. "Don't you?"

She nodded because to say anything else would be a lie.

"I thought so." Mrs. Kent chuckled and didn't press the matter. "Get upstairs now. I won't make the offer twice."

"Going." But before she did, Lois put her arms around Clark's mother and hugged her. "Clark's lucky to have you."

"He's lucky to have you, too." She hugged Lois back. "You can take my room if you like."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Lois walked to the kitchen stairs and headed up; it had been a long couple of days. Until yesterday, she didn't have any idea of what went into getting a Thanksgiving meal ready, but it had certainly been an education.

She couldn't clearly remember what Thanksgivings had been like when her mother was still alive and every holiday after that, she and Lucy invariably ended up at one of their grandparent's houses because Dad had to be away.

But not this year.

When she got to Mrs. Kent's room, she closed the door behind her and headed to the bed. She tossed the comforter back, with the intention of crawling underneath when she noticed it had started to snow again.

They'd had dusting of the stuff since Halloween and Lois had begun to wonder if there was going to be any real snow that year. She'd never considered herself a sentimental person, but there was something about snow at Thanksgiving and Christmas that made it seem more like a holiday.

She curled up in the window seat and watched the flakes float toward the ground. Dad was expected at anytime for dinner and Lois hoped the snow wouldn't get so bad that he'd get stuck in town.

The longer she sat there and watched the snow, her mind turned to Christmas. It would be their first as a couple and she hadn't been able to come up with something special enough.

It was kind ironic, really because she never had any trouble before finding something for him. She'd always curbed the urge to get him something silly or useless and he'd done the same for her.

And invariably, they'd surprise each other with something really thoughtful and usually pretty perfect.

Chloe used to say that it was part of their Christmas truce because they were unapologetically nice to each other between Christmas Eve morning and the morning after Christmas. When that forty-eight hours were up, they always moved back into their comfort zone of being snarky with each other. But every year, it would be more playful because in spite of what they wanted people to think, they were becoming good friends.

As she was thinking about that, it slowly began to dawn on her what her gift to Clark could be and she knew the perfect way to wrap it. That got her off the window seat and headed to Mrs. Kent's closet.

It was something she'd bought on a whim and Lois wasn't the kind of girl to buy anything without thinking it through.

One of the things the General had drilled into her when she was growing up was the value of a dollar. He liked to say _'Money doesn't grow on trees, Lo. So think long and hard about spending what you work so hard to earn.'_

He'd given her an allowance but she was expected to earn what he gave her, and she did. But he didn't hesitate to put in his two cents when it came to the way she wanted to use it.

But when she started earning her own money with a part time job and the base P X, he clammed up because he knew that it was hers with no strings attached.

Even knowing that though, Lois was careful about how she spent it and ended up putting most of it away. She was glad she did, because after she ended up in Smallville it was that money which allowed her to help out while she was living with the Kent's.

They refused to accept rent from her, even though she kept insisting. So she would repay them by occasionally doing the grocery shopping, but only if they let her pay.

She never knew Mrs. Kent could be so stubborn when she refused to let Lois use her own money, telling her that she should spend it on herself.

Lois finally got her to accept however, when she told Clark's mother that she felt like a freeloader not being able to help out. Mrs. Kent had insisted that Lois wasn't any such thing, but nevertheless, relented. Even after she got the job at the _Talon_ whenever she offered, it was never debated.

And there she was a few minutes later, standing in front of a full-length mirror looking at her reflection. The butterflies in her stomach had started to do the rumba at the sight of the champagne colored nightgown and sheer negligee she was wearing.

She'd bought them when she and Clark were at the _Regent_ because all signs had pointed to them making love that night. It was before he'd surprised her with their romantic dinner and she'd wanted to surprise him.

But after finding the bugs and cameras, they'd decided to postpone anything intimate and Lois made it clear to him that she wanted their first time to be at the farm.

And it would be.

She brushed nervous hands down the front of the nightgown, smoothing away non-existent wrinkles and wanting so badly to see the look on his face.

Lois was so intent on studying her reflection that she didn't hear the bedroom door open and then quickly close again. "Honey, you look lovely."

She turned in surprise to see Mrs. Kent standing in front of the door with a soft smile on her face.

"Too much?" Lois asked, embarrassed that Clark's mother had found her like that.

"I think it's going to leave him speechless." She answered and walked into the room, stating the obvious. "You're nervous."

"I shouldn't be." She raised her arms slightly and let them flop back to her sides. "It's not like it's going to be my first time, whenever it happens."

"True. And it's not going to be _his_ first time either." A gentle hand touched her arm. "But I think it probably feels a little bit like it because you love each other so much."

"Yes." It was all she could say and then she felt her eyes tear. "Part of me wishes that I'd waited for him."

"I know. And I wouldn't be surprised if Clark is feeling the same way about you." She sighed. "When it came to his other relationships, he could be so impulsive. And that lead to some decisions that Jonathan and I wished he'd put off."

"Do you think _I'm_ being impulsive?" She asked, suddenly unsure. "I mean, we're still adjusting to our new status and maybe we-"

"Lois, the last thing you're being is impulsive." Mrs. Kent tried to reassure her with a grasp of her hand. "What you and Clark are feeling for each other comes from a solid foundation of friendship. And the longer you're together those feelings will deepen, because you know each other better than you know anyone else. And it's those deep feelings that will tell you when the time is right."

"You sound so sure about it." Lois was, to say the least, dubious.

"Maybe it's because I know you and my son." She led Lois to the edge of the bed and urged her to sit down. Mrs. Kent sat down next to her and kept a firm hold of her hand. "And I know that when the time comes, you'll both want it to be something that you always remember as a very special moment in your lives."

"So you're okay with this?" Lois asked and looked down at Mrs. Kent's hand holding hers. "I thought for sure you'd rather we-"

"It doesn't matter what I think." The sound of her voice was reassuring, as was the feel of her thumb across Lois' knuckles. "You and Clark aren't kids any more and it's not my place to tell you what you can or can't do. But what I _can_ tell you is that I've never seen either of you happier and that's all that really matters to me; that both of my children are happy."

"Both?" That surprised her, though it probably shouldn't have. Mrs. Kent had always mothered her, without trying to appear as though it was exactly what she was doing. But Lois had always appreciated it because it told her that someone really cared about her.

"That's what I said." Mrs. Kent squeezed her hand. "I told you once that if I'd ever had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like you. I haven't changed my mind about that." She squeezed Lois' hand again. "I came up to tell you that your father is here. He knows you're resting and he asked me not to disturb you, but I told him you'd want to know."

"He's early, isn't he?"

"A little." She stood up and nodded. "He wanted to take a look around the farm, so Clark's going to give him the grand tour."

Lois wasn't sure she liked that. Clark may have been invulnerable, but he'd never come up against someone like the General; an overprotective and sometimes overbearing father. "Do you think that's such a good idea?"

"I think my son can take care of himself, if that's what you're worried about." Mrs. Kent smiled. "And that's because he's learned from the best."

She stood up and could feel her body start to shake as she grabbed for the older woman's hand. "Mrs. K, I'm a watered down version. If Dad goes into full overprotective mode, Smallville won't know what hit him."

"I think you're worrying over nothing." Clark's mother started to laugh. "From what I could see the last time we were all here, they got along just fine."

"Well yeah, but he doesn't know that his 'Little lo' wants to bale some serious hay with her hunky farm boy."

"Bale some hay?" She kept laughing. "I've never heard it put quite that way."

_Really, Lois. That's the best you could do?_

"You know what I mean." Lois turned around, headed for the window seat and sat down. She pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them and brought her chin down to rest. "It doesn't matter what you call it, I just really want to be with him."

"It's only natural." She hadn't realized that Mrs. Kent had followed her until she felt a gentle hand on her hair. "But the thing to remember is _why_ you want to be with him so much."

Lois cleared her throat suddenly in embarrassment and then she felt her face warm, quickly. "I guess that's why it's called making love."

"That's it." Mrs. Kent began to stroke her hair.

"I just want it to be perfect." She looked up at Clark's mother. "He's it for me and I'm pretty sure that I'm it for him; I just don't want him to regret it."

"I don't think there's any 'pretty sure' about it, honey." Mrs. Kent cupped Lois' face in her hands. "The fact is you're the key to his happiness; as much as he's the key to yours."

"The city girl and the farm boy." Lois couldn't help but smile.

"Or the city girl and the reporter?" Mrs. Kent smiled back. "Either one sounds nice."

She laughed. "They sound like bad romance novels."

"I think it sounds like a fairy tale come true because my son is finally going to get the happy ending his father and I always wanted him to have."

"That sounds really nice." Lois sighed and then felt the need to point something out. "But fairy tales aren't real."

"What you have with my son _is_." She countered. "And you both know that."

"Yeah, a _Grimm's_ Fairytale."

"Lois." Clark's mother frowned at her. "Stop that."

Lois felt a giggle bubble up in her throat and the nerves that had overtaken her began to fade away. She knew Mrs. Kent understood what she was feeling and it calmed her.

"Why don't you change out of that and put it away for the right time." She brushed Lois' hair over her shoulder. "You don't want Clark to see that before you're ready, do you?"

Lois shook her head and then jumped at the sound of a soft knock on the bedroom door and an equally soft voice. "Mom?"

_Smallville_.

"You stay there." Mrs. Kent put a gentle hand on her arm and then walked to the door and opened it. "Honey, Lois is resting. So you need to go back downstairs and keep her father company."

"Is she okay?" Lois smiled at the genuine concern in his voice.

"She's fine, just tired." His mother wouldn't budge from the doorway and seemed to block his attempts to see her. "She'll be down in a little while."

"Mom."

"Clark, don't look so worried." She reached out and Lois would bet she was smiling. "Until she and the kitchen get better acquainted, she's going to get a little tired."

Better acquainted? _Great. _

"Are you sure she's okay?"

"Nothing that a little rest won't cure; now go." And she gently closed the door. She then turned around and as Lois had suspected, she was smiling. "I've never seen him worry about someone as much as he worries about you."

"He worries about everyone." Lois shrugged, not willing to let on how much it meant to her. "He wouldn't be Smallville if he didn't."

"True." Mrs. Kent conceded with a shrug of her own. "I guess what I should have said was that he _fusses_ over you_,_ and my son has never fussed over _any_one before."

"He's my mother hen." She felt her face flush as she looked out the window at the snow that continued to fall.

"Clark told me about the migraine, I hope you don't mind." Lois felt Mrs. Kent's hand on her shoulder. "You had him pretty worried."

"I know." She had to curb the urge to roll her eyes at the memory. "He saw a side of me that I didn't really want him to see."

"Jonathan's mother once told me that illness was always a good indicator of how strong a relationship is." Lois heard her chuckle. "We'd only been dating for a couple of months when Jonathan came down with the flu. I'd never seen him so sick and it was startling to see such a strong, vital man so terribly ill."

"So what happened?"

"I stayed with him." Came the simple answer. "There wasn't anywhere else I wanted to be so I camped out in a chair to watch him. I needed to make sure he didn't get worse and it gave me a chance to get to know his mother."

"Well, Smallville got to know _me_ a whole lot better."

"And I know he didn't mind." She replied. "Lois. As long as the two of you have known each other you've come to trust the other, maybe more than anyone else. You've been able to show parts of yourself that you wouldn't think of letting anyone else see and it hasn't changed the way you feel."

"I guess if a guy still wants to kiss you even after you've thrown up in front of him, it must be love."

"Well if those dreams of yours are any indication, you _could_ look at it as a dress rehearsal for what's to come."

"But in order for that to happen, we have to do a certain something that we haven't done yet." Lois unfolded her legs and stood up a little stiffly. She then ran a hand down the front of the nightgown again and sighed. "But I _do_ want that certain something to be special and I know he does, too."

"It will be." Mrs. Kent gave her a hug. "Please rest for awhile now. I'll have Clark come up and get you in about an hour."

"Okay." Lois agreed and watched the older woman walk to the door. "Mrs. K, do you mind if I ask you something personal?"

She stopped and turned to face Lois and shook her head.

Lois felt her face warm again and nearly lost her nerve. So she took a deep breath and blurted out the question. "The first time you did that certain something with Mr. Kent, was it special?"

Mrs. Kent's face flushed a deep red and her eyes began to sparkle. Lois thought she was going to cry, but she answered the question. "Very."

And without another word, she opened the door, stepped into the hall and closed it behind her.

_Wow. _

_ooooo_

"Hey, Sleepyhead." A low voice rumbled near her ear and Lois woke to the feel of warm lips kissing her shoulder. "Dinner is just about ready, so you need to get up."

'_Ten more minutes.' _She pleaded silently because she couldn't quite find her voice to say it out loud. _'Please.' _

His answer to her was to laugh softly and kiss her shoulder again. "Come on, Lois. If I can't get you downstairs, you know who's next in line."

_The General._

"I'll get up on one condition." She finally said, leaning back against his body which was stretched out behind hers.

"Just one?" He had to be smiling. To see for herself she rolled over. And as Clark got his arms around her waist and pulled her close, she could see that he was.

"I don't think it's something you're going to object to, Smallville." She illustrated her point by getting her arms around his neck.

"You sure about that?" He raised his eyebrows in question as one of his hands skimmed down to the low of her back.

"I'm positive." She tipped her face up to his and kissed him.

It was a contrast she still had a hard time reconciling in her mind. She was being held in such strong arms, against a solidly built body; but his lips were so incredibly soft.

And those soft lips pressed warm kisses on hers before they skimmed across her cheek and then tracked down her neck.

_She definitely liked that. _

"You're right, Lois. I don't object." She could feel the smile on his lips as he kissed her shoulder again and he leaned back. "And since I met your condition, you have to get up."

"I changed my mind." She threw a leg over his and arched an eyebrow at him in challenge. "Make that two conditions."

Clark shook his head and sighed. _She was getting to him_. "You said one."

"So what's your point?" She gave him her most beguiling smile and his face flushed.

"My point is, you aren't dressed for dinner and you're looking at me like _I'm_ dessert."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"It is right now." His voice cracked just before he brushed a kiss across her lips and then got her arms from around his neck. He scrambled off the bed and ran a nervous hand through his hair. "You're trying to start something we can't finish. And as much as I'd really like to, we can't because we have to get ready for dinner."

"Maybe later." _She could still fluster him_, but now it for a completely different reason.

"Maybe when our parents aren't here." Clark backed up to the door. "But right now, they're waiting for us. And I'd really like it if your dad didn't come upstairs and find me in here."

Maybe she shouldn't have found his completely human reaction to her overbearing father amusing, but she did.

"What?" He looked a little confused.

"You told me that the only thing you're afraid of is Kryptonite. Well I think my dad is probably a close second, huh?"

To Clark's credit, he smiled at her. "Third, actually." He opened the door and stepped out and just before he closed it, his smile turned to a grin. "It's his daughter who's a close second."

Lois stared in surprise at the closed door for a moment before she sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed and then shook her head in amusement. "You're learning, Smallville."

ooooo

Twenty minutes later, she was slipping her feet into a pair of heels and running a brush through her hair when there was a soft knock on the door. "Are you up?"

She set the brush down on the dresser and walked to the door, opening it. If they hadn't been expected downstairs or had the added possibility of her father coming upstairs to get them, Clark Jerome Kent may very well have been dessert.

It was amazing what a shirt and tie could do for a man and for Clark, it was tangible evidence that he _had_ become a man. But while she stood there appraising him, he was doing the same thing with her and _she_ was starting to feel a little bit like the main course.

And she liked it, _a lot_.

"Mom asked if we would set the table when we get downstairs." He reached for her hand. "Your dad volunteered to keep the fire going, so we've got table duty."

"Fair enough." She took the hand he offered and they walked down the stairs to the kitchen. It surprised her to see that Mrs. Kent had changed for dinner, but it shouldn't have. She was dead to the world for an hour, so she wouldn't have heard Clark's mother come in anyway.

"You two look very nice, thank you." She turned at the sound of them coming down. "Lois, your father is out on the front porch having a cigar, so while he's doing that if you and Clark would set the table we can get started when he comes back in."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Kent." Lois slipped her hand out of Clark's and walked to the island where Mrs. Kent had put out the dishes, utensils, napkins and wine glasses.

She picked up the napkins and glasses and walked to the dining room. The table cloth was already laid out and two candle sticks with unlit candles sat on either end. Clark was right behind her and she proceeded to follow him around the table as he arranged the utensils and then set down the plates.

Glasses and napkins completed the table setting and with a glance back into the kitchen, Clark lit the candles with his heat vision.

"That's going to come in pretty handy, Smallville." Lois remarked quietly and put a hand on his cheek .

"I'm a handy guy to have around, Lois." He answered back as he took that hand and kissed the palm. "I thought you knew that already."

"You are." She gripped his fingers and pulled him back into the kitchen. "The table is all set, Mrs. K."

"Thank you, honey." And she looked at Clark. "If you wouldn't mind using some super speed and mashing the potatoes, Lois can go get her father."

That was her signal to walk to the front door and grab her coat off the coat rack before stepping outside. She closed the door behind her and found her father sitting quietly on the porch swing. "This is a nice place to be, Lo. I can see why you like coming out here so much."

"Mrs. Kent sent me out here to tell you dinner is ready." She walked across the porch and sat down next to him.

"You were sleeping when I got here." He glanced over at her. "You feeling all right?"

"Just tired. I've been out here since yesterday helping." She explained.

"I'm sure she's appreciated it." He nodded his understanding. "I used to help your mother with dinner when ever I was home. You girls would be in the living room and it would give us a chance to be alone and talk about how our days went."

"Clark and I do that when I come out." Lois admitted. "But my way of helping him is staying out of his way."

"I'm sure just having you there with him is enough." He took her hand in his. "He hasn't said as much, any more than you have, but that boy loves you."

"I know." Her face warmed at the idea of her father having figured it out.

"And unless I miss my guess, you love him too."

"I do."

"That's good to know." He nodded. "You've had more than your fair share of bad relationships and it feels good knowing that you finally found the right man."

"Dad."

"Don't 'Dad' me, Lois." Her father shook his head. "I may have missed a few of your romantic entanglements, but my gut tells me that this is a fellow who can handle the long haul. Lane's aren't easy to live with, but young Kent is someone who can take it."

"That's because he's had some practice at it all ready." Lois felt the need to point it out to him.

"That he has." Then Dad stood up and pulled Lois up with him. "Well, before Martha comes looking for us, let's get inside."

She walked with her father back into the house and he helped her off with her coat before they headed into the kitchen. Mrs. Kent was taking a bowl of mashed potatoes out to the dining room while Clark was taking the turkey out of the oven.

"As soon as I get this on a platter, I'll be right there." He told them. "Mom's got everything on the table and she's ready to sit down."

"It sounds like that's our cue, Lo." Her father put a hand on her back and guided her into the dining room.

"Sam, why don't you take a seat next to your daughter." Mrs. Kent directed them to their seats. "And as soon as Clark comes in with-"

"I'm in and I've got the guest of honor with me." Lois looked up and Clark was carrying a platter with a turkey that was much too big for four people.

"As soon as my son comes in with the guest of honor, we'll eat." His mother smiled at him. Clark put the platter down on the table and Mrs. Kent handed him a carving knife. "While he's doing that, we've got mashed potatoes and stuffing that are going to get cold so please help yourselves."

She encouraged them to fill their plates as Clark carved the turkey. And when he'd finished, Lois' father put a slice of light meat and dark meat on her plate and handed it to her.

"You remembered." _Her father never ceased to surprise her. _

"You were the only one of my girls who ate both." He speared two pieces of dark meat for himself and put his plate down. "Your mother and Lucy only ate the white meat and your sister usually spit it up anyway."

"Dad." Lois closed her eyes in mortification as Clark's mother laughed softly.

"He's not saying anything I'm not already familiar with, Lois."

"Mom." Clark's face flushed as he sat down and when Lois caught his eye, he shook his head.

"Clark had never had a real Thanksgiving until Jonathan and I adopted him and the first time he had turkey, he couldn't keep it down."

Lois reached over for his hand and grasped it tightly. He looked at her again and the blush on his face had moved up to his ears. "Welcome to the club, Smallville."

"Honey, we don't say these things to embarrass you." Mrs. Kent reached across the table for _her_ hand. "We say these things because they're precious memories to us."

"Could have fooled me." Lois muttered and her father chuckled.

"Lo, just remember that one of these days you can tease your _own_ kids about Thanksgiving when they're grown."

"If I don't die of embarrassment first." She sighed.

"You can't die of embarrassment, Lois." Mrs. Kent squeezed her fingers and then sat back. "It just feels like it."

_Terrific._

"Before we eat this fine meal that you and your son and my daughter prepared, I just wanted to say thank you for having me here." The General cleared his throat. "I don't like admitting this, but after Ellen died it seemed easier to leave the girls with her parent's or mine, so I wouldn't have to go through a holiday without her.

"But with the benefit of hindsight and a few more years under my belt, I know that I cheated my girls and myself of times that should have brought us together, not kept us apart." Then he looked at Lois and took her hand in his, awkwardly. "I regret that I was never very good about telling you or Lucy that I love you, but I do. And I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, Daddy." Lois leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I know I haven't given you reason to believe it, but I love you too."

"Thank you." His face flushed and he tightened his grip on her hand for a moment before he let her go and cleared his throat again. "Everything smells delicious, Martha."

"And I'm sure it'll taste even better." She quipped and then gave Lois a wink. Dad then raised his glass and toasted.

"Thank you for your hospitality and for taking such good care of my daughter. Happy Thanksgiving."

Lois, Clark and his mother raised their glasses and touched the rims together. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Now let's eat." Lois tucked into her turkey and Clark gave her an amused smile. "What?"

"It's nice to know what your priorities are, Lois."

"Yeah." Her fork stopped midway back down to her plate. "And turkey is second."

"Should I ask what the first is?" He asked and from the look on his face, he already seemed to know the answer.

"Dessert." She answered honestly and when she raised a subtle eyebrow at him, he flushed again because he knew exactly what she meant.

_And the sooner the better._


	30. Christmas Comes Early for Smallville

It was hard to believe that Christmas was only a week away and Lois couldn't wait.

The holiday had never been much to speak of growing up, but after her first Christmas with the Kents, she'd started to see things differently.

The farmhouse seemed to take on a magical quality during those few weeks that it was decorated. The smell of fresh pine and apples and cinnamon wafted through the house and the crackling of a cheery fire would always welcome her home after a long day of standing on her feet at the Talon.

Mr. Kent would ask her how the day went and Clark would wonder out loud if she'd dropped any trays lately. That would earn a scold from his mother, but it never seemed to completely wipe the smile off of his face.

It was weird to look back with such nostalgia about something that happened only five years ago. But with Mr. Kent gone and Mrs. Kent in Washington, Lois couldn't seem to help it.

At least one thing hadn't changed though; Smallville was still there.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" The subject of her thoughts tightened his arms around her and she leaned back against him. They'd cuddled up together on the couch and Lois had settled between his knees, using his chest as a backrest.

"We finally have some time alone." He dropped a kiss on her cheek. "At the moment no one is calling for help, you're not getting a phone call from an informant and at _your_ request, we've got _'A Holiday Affair'_ on the DVD player."

"Well you have to admit Robert Mitchum _is_ kind of hot." She giggled, remembering that it was the first Christmas movie Kara had ever seen and she'd remarked that for a human, he was quite handsome.

"I'll have to take your word on that." He quipped. "So what has you so preoccupied that Robert Mitchum and I can't seem to get your attention?"

"I was just thinking about my first Christmas here." She tipped her head back and caught his eye. "And how it changed how I looked at it."

"Dad always said that there was something special about this time of year and that things you didn't think were possible at any other time were possible at Christmas."

_He was more right than he realized_, because there _was_ something Lois was hoping would be possible this Christmas before his mother came home for the holiday recess.

She just hadn't found the right opportunity yet. But with any luck, it would be a Christmas neither one of them would forget.

"_Well, you asked for it." _

Lois settled back against Clark's chest and sighed as she watched the scene of Christmas dinner unfold on the screen.

She'd never been someone who'd been a big fan of Christmas movies and certainly not one that was older than her father. But Robert Mitchum's character had been in the Army, so whether she liked it or not, that got Lois's attention.

At the moment, he was proposing to a war widow he'd met just two days before Christmas. And he was doing it in front of her young son, her in-laws and her _fiancé_.

Now at any other time of the year, Lois would have rolled her eyes and thought he was a sap. But because it was Christmas, she couldn't help but think that what he was doing was kind of romantic.

Not that she'd _tell_ anyone that.

"_The way I figure it, when a man's in love with a girl, he's got a right to ask her to marry him. Any girl, anybody's girl." _He paused for a moment. _"What do you say, Connie?"_

When a mortified Connie finally looked up at him, she looked away just as quickly. _"I think you better get your hat and coat."_

"I guess he got his answer." She felt Clark shrug as they watched him leave the table and walk away.

"That's what you think." Lois put her arms on top of his. "The movie isn't over yet, so give the guy a chance."

"Don't tell me. He gets the girl in the end?" She felt his soft laugh, as much as heard it.

"Clark, he had her when he bought Timmy the 'Red Rocket Express'." Lois explained. "He just doesn't know it yet."

"Well I guess when you buy a boy an expensive train you don't have to-"

"That's just it, he _didn't_ have to. And he probably _shouldn't_ have seeing as how she'd just gotten him fired from the toy department at Crowley's."

"Some dames are just too much trouble." He laughed again and let out a startled "Hey!", when Lois gave him a quick jab in the ribs.

"Oh, please. I know that didn't hurt."

"It didn't." He sighed. "But that's not the point."

"Yeah. And thanks to you, I'm probably going to have a bruised elbow tomorrow." She was trying not to laugh as she made a show of rubbing it.

"Thanks to me?" He sighed again and then put up his hands in defeat. "All I was doing was sitting here and watching a movie with my girlfriend."

"I thought we decided not to say that." Lois felt her face warm at the sound of the word because in spite of what she'd told him, she liked hearing it. _A lot._

"_We_ didn't decide anything, Lois." He grasped her shoulders. "_You_ did."

_He just had to point that out, didn't he?_

"Whatever." She deflected the comment. "But it doesn't seem to matter does it? Because you say it anyway."

"And I'm pretty sure you don't mind." He countered, sounding much too confident in his answer.

'_You've got that right.' _She admitted silently. But Lois wasn't about to be out-maneuvered by a farm boy from Smallville, Kansas. "Since you're so sure I don't mind, then I'm _sure_ you won't mind getting off this couch to start decorating the tree you hauled in earlier."

"Lois, I was ready to start after dinner. But you insisted that we had to watch this movie first." He sounded so reasonable.

"Well I changed my mind." She sat up and swung her feet over the side of the couch, planted her feet on the floor and stood up. "I do _not_ want your mother coming home for Christmas with an undecorated tree sitting in that living room window."

"I guess it's a good thing I already strung the lights then." He was laughing again and Lois turned to see Clark still reclined on the couch. How was it that it had taken her so long to see how handsome he really was?

"What is it?" His smile had turned to a look of genuine concern because she hadn't moved.

"I love you." She leaned over, took his face in her hands and kissed him. But before he could kiss her back, she straightened up. His look was one of pleased surprise and the smile was back on his face.

"And we haven't even decorated the tree yet." He stated the obvious.

"It'll get better after we do." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Is that a promise or a threat?" Clark's face was flushed because she had no doubt in her mind that he knew what she meant.

"I think you know." Lois stepped back as he stood up and began to move toward the tree. But being the suspicious type, she shook her head. "If you're even contemplating using super speed to decorate the tree, the deals off."

His sheepish grin told her he'd been caught nearly doing just that and then he shrugged good-naturedly. "Okay."

"Besides, this is the first tree we're going to decorate together since we started dating." Lois pointed out to him. "And I don't want to rush."

"As long as I get a reward at the end of it, I won't mind." His eyes seemed to hold a sparkle of anticipation in them.

"The only way you're going to find that out is if you stop talking and start decorating."

"Only if you help me." Clark held out his hand and without hesitation, Lois took it. He walked her to the tree and stopped next to boxes that he'd brought down earlier from the attic. "There's one in there that you sent my parents when you were in Europe."

"I remember it." Lois nodded. "Dad and I were on our wild goose chase looking for Lucy. We were in Germany when I found it and it reminded of your parents."

"They were really touched and it made Dad smile." He squeezed her hand. "Imagine finding a yellow farm house ornament that had blinking lights strung around the eaves."

"I remember showing it to the General and being ready for him to say something about it." She admitted. "But all he said was that your parents would like it."

"I think the cow you sent me is in there somewhere, too." He laughed. "Your subtle way of reminding me that I was only a farm boy."

"I thought that's all you were."

"That's all I was." Clark kept a hold of her hand. "I wasn't ready to accept anything more."

"Thankfully for Metropolis, you finally did." She told him.

"What means the most is that _you_ accepted me." Lois felt the gentle pressure of his fingers squeeze hers and the sincerity in his eyes told her how much it really did. "You accepted me as a reporter-"

"Eventually." She couldn't help but interrupt.

"Eventually." He smiled back as he conceded her point. "You accepted me as a farm boy, as the Blur, as a man and you accepted my heart. You're the only one who's accepted everything that I am and not tried to change any of it."

"If I _did_ try, then I wouldn't be true to myself." Lois shrugged. "You are who you are and you can't let anyone, not even me, tell you how to deal with that."

"I love you too, Lois."

She brought a hand up to his cheek and brushed the warm skin, roughened with evening stubble. "I know."

He reached for her waist, but she stepped out of range and he looked disappointed. "Lois."

"We need to decorate the tree first." She touched his cheek again. "After we do that, I won't stop you again."

"Okay." He agreed with a nod as he walked to the tree and then plugged the cord into the outlet. The multi-colored lights dotted the tree in even rows from top to bottom. The only other person she knew who was just as meticulous, other than Mr. Kent, was her father. "Not bad, Smallville. The General would be impressed."

"We'll see how impressed he is when he sees it." His face flushed at her compliment. "But in the meantime, let me see if I can find that ornament so you can hang it."

Clark opened one of the boxes and started to search, which gave Lois a chance to watch him. And she marveled again at how he'd changed over the past couple of years.

He really _had_ become a man.

He opened a second box and moments later pulled out two tissue wrapped ornaments. He uncovered one and smiled as he handed it to her; it was the farmhouse. "I think Mom would like it if you hung that for her."

Lois turned the ornament over and found the switch, not sure that the small lights would still work. She pressed the switch to 'On' and to her delight, the lights began to blink.

It was silly to be so happy about an ornament, but it was a tangible connection to Clark's parents and _that_ made her happy.

"I don't know what made me think of it, but I went looking for that a couple of weeks ago and checked the battery."

"And it still worked?"

"No." He shook his head. "So I put in a fresh battery because I didn't want you to see it unless the lights were working."

"Should I ask what the other ornament is?" Lois thought she already knew.

"What else?" He held up a jersey cow, with a wreath around it's neck and smiled. It was the ornament Lois had sent him. "Maybe we could make this an annual tradition."

_Or maybe something else. _

Clark and Lois faced the tree and she had the absurd idea to start a count, _'One, two, three.' _but resisted the urge.

"Ladies first." His soft voice was near her ear.

"I've got a better idea." She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Let's do it together."

It was an unintended double entendre, but it was there nonetheless. And instead of shying away from it, Clark answered with a whisper. "After we finish the tree."

And he kissed her.

When she gained her bearings enough to realize what he'd said, Lois leaned back and looked at him. His face was red as a beet as he seemed just as surprised at his own boldness, but didn't back down. "_If_ you think you're ready."

Lois felt her own face flush and she nodded. "I think it's time to give you your Christmas present anyway."

"I'd like that." He reached for her hand. "Because I'm pretty sure it's not another ornament."

"It's much better than that, Smallville."

"Then let's get started." He kissed her cheek and together they hung the first two ornaments.

It proved more difficult than she thought, to stand next to Clark and hang all the old ornaments that had been on the Kent Christmas tree since Mr. Kent was little, but they did.

And when they'd come across one that looked a little forlorn, it usually turned out to be something Clark had made for his mother or father when he was young. She'd seen pictures of him when he was a little boy and since they'd come back from the Regent, she'd begun to wonder if their little boys would look like _him_.

That was, if they'd be able to have little boys, or little girls for that matter.

When the tree was finally decorated and they'd finished it off with a light dusting of tinsel, something his mother had always done, there was one more thing Lois needed to do to make their first Christmas together perfect.

"I'm going to go upstairs and get your present." She faced the love of her life and the man she was more than ready to take the next step with.

He must have known what she meant because he was trying not to smile. "Do you need any help?"

She shook her head and wanted nothing more than to launch herself into his arms and get things started, but she didn't because it wasn't just about _that_. "No, I've got it. But once I get back down here, you can take your time to unwrap it."

"Well, considering you're worse at wrapping then _I_ am, I think I'll need to." There was a sparkle in his eyes that hadn't been there a moment before.

"Don't worry about it, Smallville. I'll make sure it's worth the trouble." Her heart was picking up a flutter that was making her pulse begin to race.

"It'll probably take all night." His voice was becoming a little breathless and she had to admit that she liked the sound of it.

"That's okay. I don't plan on going anywhere, except maybe back upstairs." It was then that she smiled at him. "So don't move."

"If you take too long, I can't make that a guarantee."

That was all Lois needed to hear and she was up the stairs and in Mrs. Kent's room, closing the door behind her. Her knees had started to shake and she leaned against the door, not trusting her legs to get her to the closet just yet. _'This is what a first time should feel like' _the thought flitted across her mind, not a way of getting back at her father.

Because that was what led up to her first time. She was angry, she was drunk and she wanted to get back at the General for forbidding her to get involved with the son of a four-star.

When it was all said and done, she knew she should have listened to her father. Lois, it turned out, was only a trophy. She came to find out that she was on a list of conquests and she was one of the higher ranking.

In his own overbearing way, Dad had been trying to protect her because he'd heard the rumors. But without solid evidence to present her, Lois had chosen to ignore his warnings.

And it was something she'd always regretted.

But tonight was something she knew she never would and that gave her the strength to boost herself away from the door and walk to the closet.

Christmas was going to come early for Smallville.

ooooo

He watched her go upstairs and then started to shake, terribly.

He'd never felt for anyone else what he felt for Lois and he wanted everything to be perfect for her, for _them_.

Clark stood at the fireplace and ran a nervous hand through his hair. Nerves and regret were the two emotions that were at war inside him because more than anything, he wished that she could have been his first. And he knew now that she would have been his only.

But his heart, as misguided as it was, had overruled what he knew deep down and he'd given himself to a girl who never really appreciated who he was.

When he'd told Lois about his less than human attributes she'd accepted him, _all _of him. She still saw him as her Smallville, as Clark Kent and in typical Lois fashion, teased him about his abilities.

She'd taken everything in stride and maybe that shouldn't have surprised him, but it did. Chloe, Lana and even Pete had looked at him differently after they'd found out and he felt less like Clark and more like Kal-El.

With Lois, it was with her when he felt most like a human.

Well, Lois and his mom.

They were the only two women in his life who treated him like he wasn't anything extraordinary, just a son and a boyfriend.

_Boyfriend. _

_That_ was taking some getting used to, because he never really felt like _Lana_'s boyfriend. All he felt with her was the burden of keeping his Kryptonian heritage a secret.

Looking back, he couldn't remember a time when they'd ever held hands, or held each other for no other reason than that they wanted to. His secret, and his fear of her finding out, kept him from reaching out to her.

But Clark suspected that even if she _had_ known, things wouldn't have been much different. Lana had always been an unobtainable dream, even when he'd had her.

Lois had been too, in a sense. But only in that he never believed that she would ever see him as anything more than a farm boy. Or that he would ever see _her_ as anything more than a perennial thorn in his side.

But as he was finding out, some dreams weren't that unobtainable. Lois had come to see him as much more than a farm boy and while she _was_ still a thorn in his side, it was a pain he knew he couldn't live without.

Believing she was dead had proved that.

He brought himself up short as he looked around the room and realized that there wasn't a lot of time. She was doing something special for him, and what it was he wasn't sure, so he wanted to do something special for her.

Clark could have used his super speed to get upstairs, but this was a night that he wanted to remember every detail and not rush anything. But it didn't mean that he wasn't going to take the stairs two at time so he could get down to his room.

He stopped in front of his mom's room and it didn't take super hearing to know that Lois wasn't moving around. He wanted to open the door and see if she was all right, but if it ruined her Christmas surprise he'd never hear the end of it.

Instead, he continued down the hall.

When he walked inside, he was glad that his mother had drilled into him the need to keep his room neat and orderly. That meant the only thing he needed to do was turn down the bed and get himself ready before he went downstairs.

Even after he'd changed into a tee shirt and pajama bottoms, he went back to the bed and fiddled with the pillows. It shouldn't have mattered so much because it wasn't as though she'd never seen his room before, but it did.

He padded barefoot out of the room and stopped before he went back downstairs. He cast a critical eye at the bed and wished that he had time to do more. But a glance at his watch told him that he was out of time and Lois might very well be downstairs waiting for him.

He stopped again at Mom's room and still heard nothing. He'd either completely misunderstood what she meant about his Christmas present, or Lois had gotten cold feet.

There was only one way he was going to find out.

When he got back to the living room, Lois was nowhere to be found and he was at a loss as to what he should do. It seemed that on an occasion such as this, champagne would be called for. But not only did he not drink, there wasn't any champagne in the house.

It wasn't every day, though that you were going to be with a girl that you knew in your heart was it for you. A girl that you could see spending the rest of your life with and if you were really lucky, having kids with.

He had to admit, however that it wasn't just _any_ kids that he wanted.

He wanted _their_ kids, Ellen and Sam.

Clark wasn't sure what prompted him to go to the kitchen and look in the refrigerator, but with no expectations of the outcome, he found what he was sure wouldn't be there.

How he could have missed it, he didn't know. And as he pulled out a bottle of champagne from the back of the top shelf, there was a note in his mother's handwriting taped to it. _'When the time is right.'_

He could feel his face warm at the idea that Mom knew what he wanted with Lois and a little surprised that she seemed to be all right with it. She didn't treat him like it, but Clark often felt like a little boy around her and as with any child didn't want to disappointment his mother.

But she'd always had a good relationship with Lois and treated her almost like a daughter. And Lois reciprocated by letting her do it and confiding things to her that she wouldn't to anyone else.

His hands were starting to shake again and he set the bottle down on the counter before it slipped out of his grasp. A deep breath seemed to calm his nerves temporarily before going to the cabinet for a pair of champagne glasses.

He carried the flutes in one hand, the bottle in the other and took everything into the living room. And after putting them down on the coffee table, he glanced up the stairs; still no Lois.

Clark was starting to get a little worried and thought something might be wrong. X-ray vision seemed to be the logical thing to do, but it would mean invading her privacy and he'd never do that.

Instead, he walked to the foot of the stairs and called out to her. "Lois?"

Nothing.

He moved up to the second floor and stopped again, cautiously when he got to the head of the stairs. "Lois, are you all right?"

"_Go downstairs, I'm fine." _He heard her call back and even though the door muffled the sound of her voice, she was obviously nervous.

"Are you sure?" He took a step forward, not wanting to leave her if she really needed him.

"_Smallville, now!" _She may have been nervous, but he knew that tone. So he turned around and went back down, worrying the whole way.

He decided to open the champagne while he waited and poured a half glass for himself and a full glass for her. He felt a smile pull at his lips as he imagined what Lois might say. _'Trying to get me drunk, Smallville?' _

At this point, he'd be happy if he could just get her downstairs.

His wish was about to be granted when he heard the bedroom door open and the nerves he'd tried to keep at bay came back with a vengeance. So he walked to the fireplace, picked up the poker and jabbed at the logs.

The fire was burning fine on it's own, but his hands needed something to do.

"Making a few assumptions aren't you, Clark?" She didn't sound nervous any more. In fact she sounded downright amused and suddenly he felt like an idiot; he'd misread the whole thing.

Clark turned around to apologize because there wasn't any way he could explain his way out of it and as it turned out, there wasn't any need to.

He tried to remember how to breathe as she stood in the doorway, more beautiful than he ever thought possible. She was wearing a sleeveless nightgown that clung to her in all the right places and showed just enough cleavage to make him lightheaded with the possibilities.

A shear robe covered the nightgown and couldn't have been keeping her very warm. It was keeping _him_ plenty warm, though.

"Too much?" He could hear her thundering heartbeat and relaxed a little, knowing that in spite of her bravado, she really was nervous.

He shook his head as his own heart began to flutter furiously. "You're perfect."

She smiled in relief and then glanced over at the coffee table. "Trying to get me drunk, Smallville?"

_He really did know her._

"And maybe taking advantage of you, too." The words were out before he could stop them and Lois blinked at him in surprise.

"I can't believe you said that." Her look of astonishment made him wonder if he'd pressed his luck. "Martha Kent's baby boy."

"Lois." _He'd just lost his chance._

She walked into the room in such a way that the gown moved with her, brushing against her curves and the robe giving her an almost ethereal look. She stopped when she got to the coffee table and picked up the glasses, handing one to him. "Lucky for me, you're not a baby anymore."

"Lois?" Clark was confused.

"Did you go out for this while I was upstairs?"

"Mom left it for us." He shook his head. "It's been in the refrigerator since Thanksgiving."

"I hope it's not flat."

"The way the cork popped, I'd say no." Clark held up his glass to show her the chains of bubbles that floated to the top.

"And your mom gave us this bottle, knowing that we'd-" She stopped herself short and backed up a step. "Well she did say that she wanted both of her children to be happy."

Her face flashed bright red and Lois was as embarrassed as he'd ever seen her. "Mom said that?"

"Yeah." She didn't try to deny it. "It seems that your mother has a soft spot for me, though I can't figure out why."

"It's a Kent thing." He grinned. "Dad had a soft spot for you too, so I guess it runs in the family."

"What about you?" Lois quirked an eyebrow at him. "Do _you_ have a soft spot for me?"

"It's not just soft, Lois. It's mush." He answered and took her free hand in his. "So what should we toast to?"

"Since you asked, you tell me." Clark knew a Lois deflection when he heard it.

"It's nothing complicated. To us." His hands were starting to tremble again. But it was less about nerves and more about wanting so badly to touch her, _every_where.

"I think I can live with that." She lifted her glass and saluted him before she put it to her lips and drained it. She put the empty glass down on the coffee table and looked at him innocently as she held out her hand. "If you're not going to drink that-"

Clark was trying to process the fact that she'd just drunk an entire glass of champagne, but had the presence of mind to shake his head. "If I let you have this; you'll just accuse me again of trying to get you drunk."

"Well I can't very well get _you _drunk since alcohol doesn't affect you. But the truth is-" She slipped the glass out of his hand and set it down next to hers. "I don't want anything to cloud this moment. So if you'll put the champagne back in the refrigerator, I'll meet you upstairs. Okay?"

"Lois?" She would have called him an incurable romantic, but he really wanted to carry her up the stairs.

It was odd how she seemed to read his thoughts sometimes because instead of heading for the stairs as he expected her to, she nibbled the side of her lip and then smiled. "I've got a better idea. Put the champagne away and then you can take me upstairs yourself."

"Come with me." He wasn't about to let her out of his sight, not when they were so close. He picked up the bottle with one hand and took Lois' hand with the other. She scooped up the glasses with her free hand and they walked into the kitchen.

While he stored the champagne, Lois emptied the half glass into the sink and rinsed them both. She set them down and then her hands came to rest on the edge of the counter. He watched as she took a deep breath and her face flushed. "Clark?"

"What is it?"

"Can we stop stalling now?" She glanced over at him.

_Don't smile, Clark._

"I was trying to set the mood."

"Well stop that and do something about _this_." She emphasized her point by putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not standing here freezing to death because I _want_ to."

"I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I let you, would I?" Clark closed the distance between them and then stopped. He framed her face with his hands and leaned in, pressing his lips to hers.

She didn't hesitate to kiss him back.

As he got his arms around her waist, Lois got her arms around his neck and pulled her body against his. His knees started to shake at the feel of her warmth and her curves pressed against his solid form. And then he forced those shaky knees to bend slightly so he could get an arm under Lois's knees and pick her up.

She sighed softly into their kiss, but wouldn't let him go. So he had to rely on his instincts of where everything was to get them up the stairs. It wasn't as difficult as he thought it might be because he'd been up and down those stairs countless times since he was three years old.

He'd just never taken them with a beautiful girl in his arms.

Clark got her upstairs and stepped lightly down the hallway, trying to gauge how close they were to his room. Lois figured it out before he did because one of her arms shot out and he heard her hand slap the doorframe.

He turned them into the room and set Lois down on her feet. It wasn't the most romantic setting ever, his bedside lamp the only illumination next to the turned down bed. But she seemed to appreciate what he'd tried to do when she touched his arm.

"You thought of everything, didn't you?"

"I just want this to be something you'll always remember." He took her hand.

"Clark, no one has ever gone to this much trouble for me." Lois told him and a surge of unexpected jealousy flashed through him. "You are so sweet."

And to prove it, she kissed him.

Then to stoke the fire she'd started in him downstairs; she deepened their kiss as her arms slipped around his waist. He accepted the added intimacy without hesitation and reached up to find the edge of the robe and brush it down her arms.

She let go of him only long enough for the robe to drop whisper quiet to the floor before her arms were back around him and he felt her grasp the edge of his tee shirt.

His heart started to thump in double time when he stood back and took the initiative, pulling the tee shirt over his head. He wanted to do it as much to save time, as to see the look on Lois's face when he did.

And he wasn't disappointed when he saw her eyes slowly roam over his bare chest. Her hands came up to rest on his pectorals and the feel of her warm skin against his, especially when those very hands began to explore, was a feeling that he'd never expected.

"You sure grew up nice, Smallville." Lois' voice was a breathy whisper and her frank comment about his physique made his face warm self-consciously.

"So did you, Lois." He responded honestly.

Clark didn't know when it had happened. But somewhere between barreling into his life five years ago and this very night, her body had gained curves in all the right places that transformed her from a pretty girl into a beautiful woman.

"You're just saying that because you want to get me in your bed." She let out the cutest little giggle as her hands moved up his chest, traced his clavicles and then moved to his shoulders. "Such strong shoulders that carry so much on them."

"The only thing I want to carry right now is _you_." His hands moved back up for the thin straps of her nightgown, but Lois shook her head.

"My turn." She brushed the straps off her shoulders and then hesitated, holding the gown against her. She took a deep breath and held it for a moment before she let it out and slowly dropped her arms to her sides, allowing the silky material to slip to the floor.

If he'd been able to string a coherent thought together, Clark would have wondered if he had the same stunned look on his face as Lois had had. He looked at her hesitantly and didn't realize his eyes had stopped until he heard her voice. "Getting a little cold here. Could you do something about that?"

"I'm sorry, Lois." He looked up into her reddened face and couldn't help but smile.

"And while you're at it, you need to lose the rest of what you're wearing." She put her hand on his cheek. "You've got me at a disadvantage."

"That's not something I ever thought I'd hear." He teased.

"Don't get used to it." Lois moved close to him and sighed. "So are you going to level the playing field or am I going to have to do it for you?"

The challenge was there and he took a deep breath of his own before he answered her request.

Once that happened, everything seemed to take on a surreal quality as they made their way into his bed and found the positions that had become second nature after sharing a bed at the Regent.

Maybe it was because of the fact that they'd already slept together and dreamed together about the intimacy they'd shared. But finally having the chance to be with Lois wasn't as awkward as he feared it might be.

They seemed to know exactly what to do to please the other and to make it an experience that would make their other experiences pale in comparison. And it was easy to do that because their love for each other was without boundaries, without conditions and most importantly, without secrets.

Clark made love with a woman that night who knew everything about him and accepted everything about him. And the combination of the two made him fall even more deeply in love with her.

He didn't know it was possible.

But Clark knew that with Lois, anything was possible because nothing with her was _im_possible.

ooooo

The first thing she noticed when she realized morning had come was how her body ached in ways that it hadn't in a long time. But the aches she was feeling were like nothing she'd experienced before because she'd never been in love before, not really. And making love with a man that you were head over heels, devoted for life in love with, made all the difference.

And he _had_ loved her.

From the moment he'd surprised her with champagne when she'd gone back downstairs to gift _him_ with the Christmas present of herself, he'd made sure that she was comfortable with what they were doing, every step of the way.

Typical Smallville, making sure she was taken care of before himself. But he should have known that she would take care of him, too. Lois had wanted him to be just as comfortable, so it would be an experience that neither would forget, nor regret. It's why they'd waited.

That moment needed to be as perfect as they could make it.

_And it had been._

But that early morning, when she found herself being wakened with warm, soft kisses along her neck and shoulder, she smiled. Because those very same lips had kissed her in places she never dreamed they would.

When she finally rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, she found the face of the man who had satisfied her so completely, smiling at her. The expression on his face was one she'd never seen and his smile of happiness made _her_ smile.

"Hi." That simple word conveyed so much and when Lois felt a tear slip out of the corner of her eye, he reached up with a gentle hand to brush it away. "Sleep well?"

"No. Thanks to you." She felt her own face heat with the memory of where that hand had touched her during the night.

"But you don't look like you minded too much." If anyone else but Clark had said that, they would've sounded much too cocky and sure of themselves. "I know _I_ didn't."

"Of course you didn't, it was me." As if she needed to say anything more.

"And it's not going to be anyone else _but_ you for the rest of my life." He leaned over and kissed her.

"Forever and for always, huh?" She touched his cheek and her fingers tingled against the friction of the early morning stubble.

"Or maybe even longer." He laughed softly and kissed her again.

"Are you thinking about something permanent?"

_Was he proposing?_

"Lois, I think we're as permanent as permanent can be. Don't you?" He seemed to deflect her unasked question.

"Permanent enough to think about marriage?" She found herself asking him, though she wasn't sure why. Clark Kent was not a one-night stand kind of a guy and the fact that'd they'd made love wasn't something either of them had taken lightly.

"Are you proposing?" He leaned close and nuzzled her hair with his lips.

"I may be an independent woman, Smallville. But if anyone's going to propose in this relationship, it's going to be _you_."

"And is there any kind of a deadline I'm working with?" His warm breath against her ear as he laughed, made her heart squeeze hard in her chest.

"When I get tired of waiting, I'll let you know." She twined her fingers into his hair as he kissed her shoulder again.

"I don't think you're going to get tired of waiting, Lois." She felt him shift as he kissed a sensitive spot he'd found the night before, just behind her ear.

'_Oh, god.' _

"Clark?" It amazed her how he seemed to be the only man alive who could render her nearly speechless with a simple touch. But the way his hands were starting to roam, he was sending an unmistakable signal to her.

"I told you that you weren't going to get tired of waiting." He explained with a smile that made her heart melt and Lois shook her head.

"I thought you meant-" She lost her train of thought when she felt his hand skim her hip and the pair of blue eyes that wouldn't let her look away, deepened in color as he made it clear that he wasn't talking about a proposal. At least not yet.

But that was all right with her.

At the moment, they had other things to do.


	31. For Always and Forever

Well here it is, the final chapter of **The Honeymooners** and I'm sorry it's taken so long.

I've had so much fun writing this and I really appreciate all the feedback. I also appreciate how you stuck with me during the long chapter breaks, so this final chapter is dedicated to all of you.

Thank you so much, Irish Rose.

**Previously on The Honeymooners:**

When she finally rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, she found the face of the man who had satisfied her so completely, smiling at her. The expression on his face was one she'd never seen and his smile of happiness made her smile.

"Hi." That simple word conveyed so much and when Lois felt a tear slip out of the corner of her eye, he reached up with a gentle hand to brush it away. "Sleep well?"

"No. Thanks to you." She felt her own face heat with the memory of where that hand had touched her during the night.

"But you don't look like you minded too much." If anyone else but Clark had said that, they would've sounded much too cocky and sure of themselves. "I know I didn't."

"Of course you didn't, it was me." As if she needed to say anything more.

"And it's not going to be anyone else but you for the rest of my life." He leaned over and kissed her.

"Forever and for always, huh?" She touched his cheek and her fingers tingled against the friction of the early morning stubble.

"Or maybe even longer." He laughed softly and kissed her again.

"Are you thinking about something permanent?"

Was he proposing?

"Lois, I think we're as permanent as permanent can be. Don't you?" He seemed to deflect her unasked question.

"Permanent enough to think about marriage?" She found herself asking him, though she wasn't sure why. Clark Kent was not a one-night stand kind of a guy and the fact that'd they'd made love wasn't something either of them had taken lightly.

"Are you proposing?" He leaned close and nuzzled her hair with his lips.

"I may be an independent woman, Smallville. But if anyone's going to propose in this relationship, it's going to be you."

"And is there any kind of a deadline I'm working with?" His warm breath against her ear as he laughed, made her heart squeeze hard in her chest.

"When I get tired of waiting, I'll let you know." She twined her fingers into his hair as he kissed her shoulder again.

"I don't think you're going to get tired of waiting, Lois." She felt him shift as he kissed a sensitive spot he'd found the night before, just behind her ear.

'Oh, god.'

"Clark?" It amazed her how he seemed to be the only man alive who could render her nearly speechless with a simple touch. But the way his hands were starting to roam, he was sending an unmistakable signal to her.

"I told you that you weren't going to get tired of waiting." He explained with a smile that made her heart melt and Lois shook her head.

"I thought you meant-" She lost her train of thought when she felt his hand skim her hip and the pair of blue eyes that wouldn't let her look away, deepened in color as he made it clear that he wasn't talking about a proposal. At least not yet.

But that was all right with her.

At the moment, they had other things to do.

**And now the final chapter of The Honeymooners:**

**Chapter 31: For Always and Forever**

When he told her she wouldn't get tired of waiting for a proposal, he wasn't kidding. Because six months after they made love for the first time, they were married.

Clark got the ball rolling toward their wedding day when he proposed to her on Christmas Eve. It was an intimate setting at the Kent farm with just the two of them and their parents and he later told her that he'd already decided to pop the question before she'd given him his Christmas present.

When he got down on one knee that evening and presented the ring to her, it was the very ring she'd been enchanted with when she'd spotted it in the jewelry store window next to the Regent Hotel.

It was the afternoon she'd taken a walk around the block while Clark was taking care of his Blur duties. She had no idea that he'd seen her there, so it made the ring that much more of a surprise.

"_Honey, would you put the mugs on that tray for me?" Mrs. Kent pointed to it on the island. "Clark and your father will be back any time now. It's gotten colder outside and I think they'd appreciate having something hot to drink."_

"_Mrs. K, you know the cold doesn't bother Clark." Lois smiled at her and then did as she was asked. "And Dad just ignores it."_

"_I know." She nodded. There were tears in her eyes and it wasn't the first time that evening Lois had seen them. But just as quickly, she blinked them away. "I sometimes forget that my little boy isn't human."_

"_We're going to have to tell my dad about that. Eventually."_

"_You've talked about it?" It was obvious from the look on her face that she wasn't expecting to hear that._

"_We both agreed that it's not fair to keep this from him." She explained. "I don't like keeping secrets anyway and with my dad's expert interrogation skills, it wouldn't take much for him to get me to spill my guts."_

"_You're right." Mrs. Kent agreed with a firm nod. "And seeing as how-"_

_She stopped short and turned to face the coffee maker. The coffee hadn't finished brewing yet, so she got the cream pitcher out of the refrigerator, a small bowl of sugar from the counter and set them down on the tray. _

"_Seeing as how, _what_?" Lois asked and couldn't help but notice that the normally unflappable Martha Kent was suddenly a bundle of nerves._

"_Don't mind me." She deflected as she picked up the full tray and carried it out of the kitchen, tossing instructions over her shoulder. "When the coffee's done, please bring it out to the living room."_

"_Sure thing, Mrs. Kent." Lois shrugged and frowned in confusion. Something was up with Mrs. K and she didn't have a clue what it could be._

_Come to think of it, her father had had a barely concealed grin that late afternoon and she was pretty sure it wasn't because her relationship with Clark had become more intimate._

_She heard the front door open and found that she had a smile on her face at the sound of Dad and Clark laughing. It was a strange sound to hear from the both of them because Clark hadn't laughed much since Mr. Kent passed away. And the General seemed to lose any semblance of humor after her mother died._

_So to hear the two men she loved most, who were normally much too serious, laughing, it definitely warmed her heart. And the feel of Clark's hands on her shoulders a few minutes later didn't hurt either._

"_Hi." He pressed a kiss to her hair. "I thought I'd come in and give you a hand."_

"_What's the matter, Smallville? Think I can't handle a pot of coffee?" Her cheeks warmed as she felt him crowd his body against her back. "Besides, your hands are kind of busy right now."_

"_But my lips aren't." His voice rumbled near her ear. "So what are you going to do about that?"_

"_Let me turn around and I'll show you." She answered and he stepped back enough to let her do just that. She then snaked her arms around his waist as his slipped down around hers._

_The look in his eyes made her face warm even more because she saw how his undisguised happiness lit him from within. It had been there since the night they'd made love and that lit _her_ from within, knowing she had the ability to make him feel that way._

_She tipped her face up as his soft lips came down to meet hers. Clark's hands began a slow descent to her lower back and one went beyond. Her fingers itched to pull the tail of his shirt loose so she could touch him, but she was able to remain coherent enough to remember that their parents were a few feet away in the living room._

"_I don't suppose we could sneak upstairs?" His warm breath brushed across her cheek. _

"_As much as I love that idea, you know we can't." She whispered in his ear and then nipped the lobe gently with her teeth._

_He tensed and then retaliated by firmly cupping her backside with his hand and pressed her against his body so he could show her in no uncertain terms what she was doing to him. "Then you can't do things like that."_

"_Touché, Mr. Kent." Lois was sure she was about to swoon, but Clark's other hand at her waist held her close against him and she knew she wasn't going anywhere._

_Lois could feel him begin to tremble and knew it was taking a special kind of strength for him not take her right there in the kitchen. "Before we do something to embarrass our parents, and ourselves we should probably get out there."_

"_Yeah." She didn't particularly want to let him go and that was something that oddly brought her comfort, because she knew that he didn't want to let her go either._

"_You never used to blush before." He reached up and put his hand to her cheek, running a gentle thumb across her skin. "And now you seem to do it all the time. I like that."_

"_And whose fault is that?"_

"_Mine." He admitted proudly with a smile and dropped his hand. And then _he_ blushed. "If you wouldn't mind taking the coffee, I'll be right behind you."_

"_Smallville?" Lois looked at him curiously as he turned to face the counter._

"_It's okay, Lois." He glanced over his shoulder. "I just need a minute."_

_It didn't take her a second to realize what he meant and she nodded her understanding. The evidence of what they'd been doing would have been obvious and he didn't want to embarrass Lois or his mother._

"_Just don't take too long or they're going to figure out why." She got the full pot of coffee and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Okay?"_

"_Okay." His face reddened even more. "You're the only girl I've really had this problem with."_

"_You're welcome." She found herself giggling with delight as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She saw a glance pass between Clark's mother and her father and they were smiling. "Clark will be out in a minute."_

"_That's fine, honey." Mrs. Kent told her. "In the meantime, why don't you put that down? I'll start pouring as soon as my son gets out here and then we can all open one gift."_

"_But it's Christmas Eve." Lois stated the obvious._

"_Not that it ever made a difference." Her father chuckled and took it upon himself to pour a mug of coffee. "My apologies, Martha. But it's cold out there."_

"_It's all right." Mrs. Kent smiled at him and then looked toward the kitchen. "There he is."_

"_Thanks for waiting." He glanced toward Lois as he walked into the living room and took a seat next to her on the couch. "Shelby wanted to play so I had to wash my hands."_

"_I've never seen a dog that wants to play so much." Lois's father commented seeming to miss the look that passed between her and Clark. "The last couple of times I've gone back to Washington and unpacked, my clothes have been covered with fur."_

"_Shelby does have a way of leaving an impression." Mrs. Kent laughed and began to pour coffee into the other three mugs. "Clark, honey why don't you get the gifts while I do this and we can each open one before Sam goes back to town."_

"_Are you sure Mom and I can't talk you into staying?" Clark asked the General as he got up and walked to the tree, picking out four small gifts. He turned back around and handed one to his mother and to the General, who shook his head. "I can't seem to talk Lois into staying either."_

"_Smallville, we'll be back in the morning." She patted his knee as he sat back down next to her. He then turned her left palm over and set a package in her hand. Lois's heart hitched as she stared at it and tried not to guess what it could be. It looked like a ring box, but for all she knew he could have bought her earrings._

"_Lois, why don't you go first." Mrs. Kent prompted her gently. "Since this is your first Christmas together with my son, I think it's appropriate." _

"_Okay." She answered cautiously as her father sat forward and put his coffee mug down. Mrs. K had tears in her eyes again and Clark looked kind of nervous. And now, so was she. "Here goes."_

_It was so neatly wrapped and Lois was a little hesitant to open it. Clark seemed to think that she was trying to figure out if it was his handiwork because he shrugged. _

"_I asked Mom to wrap it for me." His voice cracked and then his face flushed. "I needed it to be just right." _

_Lois's hands started to shake because without saying it, she knew he wasn't giving her earrings; it was something much more permanent. She took a deep breath, carefully unwrapped the package and in her hand was a velvet ring box._

_She took another breath and when she opened it, couched inside was the ring she'd seen in the jewelry store window next to the Regent Hotel. "Clark?"_

_How did he know?_

_His hands were trembling as he took the box from her hand and pulled the ring out. He got up off the couch and went down on one knee, holding the ring in front of her. "I know it might seem a little soon to be doing this, but we've known each other for five years and you know me better than anyone."_

"_Clark." He was actually going to do it._

"_And at the risk of sounding a little over confident, I think I know you better than anyone, too." _

"_Clark." She could feel the tears begin to gather in her eyes. _

_He hadn't made her wait. _

"_We've been through a lot together and you've always been there for me whether I've wanted you there or not." _

_Lois couldn't stand it anymore and she nodded. "Yes."_

"_I haven't asked you anything yet." There was a look of joy and exasperation on his face, her very favorite expression. _

"_The answer is still yes."_

"_Well did you ever stop to consider that I wasn't going to ask you to marry me?" He was trying so hard not to smile, but failing miserably._

"_Smallville, you're down on one knee and have an engagement ring in your hand. That's kind of a dead giveaway."_

"_Never could get anything past you." He reached for her right hand and squeezed it. "I'd like to finish my proposal now."_

_Lois nodded her approval and blinked furiously to keep from crying. Part of her agreed with him that it did seem a little soon, but a larger part felt that the time couldn't be more perfect because they'd taken five years to really get to know each other. _

_They'd seen each other at their best and at their worst and still managed to remain friends. And as a surprise to the both of them, they had finally found the love of their life in each other._

"_I know it might seem a little soon to be doing this-"_

"_You already said that." She tweaked him and he gave her that look._

"_Lois."_

"_Sorry." She giggled and put her free hand on his chest, feeling the nervous thumping of his heart under her fingers. _

"_What I'm trying to say is this. When I dream about where I want my life to be, it's with you, Lois." He held the ring out and his eyes had begun to sparkle. "And you'd make me the happiest guy in Smallville if you agreed to marry me."_

_She answered by getting off the couch and down on her knees in front of him. She put her hands on his broad shoulders, leaned up and whispered her answer in his ear._

"_Yes."_

"_Then this belongs to you." He whispered in response and leaned back so he could slip the ring on her finger. "Merry Christmas, Lois."_

"_It certainly is, Smallville." She agreed before sealing their new engagement with a kiss._

oooooo

It had been a day he'd never forget because six months after he and Lois made love for the first time, they were married. It was something that had been in the back of his mind since Thanksgiving, but the closer that it got to Christmas Clark couldn't help but feel that it was much too soon to propose to her.

While it was true that they'd known each other for the last five years, and he knew without a doubt that she knew him better than anyone, marriage was something that she probably wasn't ready to even consider. And to be perfectly honest, Clark wasn't sure _he_ was ready either.

But if that were really true, why had he found himself in front of the very jewelry store window two weeks before Christmas where he'd seen Lois that fall afternoon when they were staying at the Regent?

And after being shown the ring she'd been looking at and holding it carefully between his thumb and forefinger studying it, why did he suddenly want to see it on Lois's hand? Simple.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

That feeling grew even more so, after Lois gave him an early Christmas present of herself and Clark knew that his life was finally where he used to wonder if it could be.

So on that Christmas Eve, with some help from his mother, he pledged his life to her.

"_What I'm trying to say is this. When I dream about where I want my life to be, it's with you, Lois." He held the ring out to her and could feel the tears in his eyes. "And you'd make me the happiest guy in Smallville if you agreed to marry me."_

_She answered by getting off the couch and down on her knees in front of him. She put her hands on his shoulders, leaned up and whispered her answer in his ear. "Yes."_

"_Then this belongs to you." He whispered in response and leaned back so he could slip the ring on her finger. "Merry Christmas, Lois."_

"_It certainly is, Smallville." She agreed before sealing their new engagement with a kiss. _

_And then as suddenly as she'd kissed him, she pulled away to give her father a stern look. "You knew about this, didn't you?"_

"_I stumbled into the battle plan at the last minute and became aware that young Kent here had planned on pulling out the heavy artillery." Lois's father shrugged unapologetically and picked up his coffee mug, taking a sip. "So what about you, Lo? I don't see a gift for your new fiancé."_

_Fiancé. He liked the sound of that._

"_If you must know, General Nosy-" Clark's head dipped as he hid a smile at Lois' use of her father's favorite nickname for his oldest daughter, 'Miss Nosy'. "I already gave Clark his Christmas present."_

"_Fair enough." He smothered a grin behind his coffee mug._

_He knew._

_Clark stood up and held his hand out to Lois, who took it and he helped her up from the floor. A moment later when she was on her feet, General Lane had that same hand in his. In what would have been a crushing grip for a human male, Clark made a pretense of wincing slightly. He figured it, as it rightly turned out, was what Lois's father would have expected._

"_I didn't do the job of I should have taking care of my little Lo, so I expect you to do better by her." The serious words were from a father full of regrets. "She had to come second too often because of my job, but you don't have that excuse."_

"_Dad." Lois voiced a soft admonition as she put a hand on Clark's arm. "Clark isn't like that."_

"_I know you might think I don't have the credibility to speak to him like this, but I am your father. And as imperfect as I am, it doesn't mean that I don't want what's best for you."_

"_General Lane, you don't ever need to worry about your daughter." Clark tried to reassure him and felt Lois' hand slip into his. "She'll always come first with me, no matter what else is happening." _

"_Daddy." Lois let go of his hand and walked around the coffee table to take her father's in both of hers. "Clark is just like his dad. Mr. Kent was a caring and giving man who loved his family and loved this farm. He gave his full devotion to both and Clark will do the same with me and with his job."_

"_I just can't help but think about what happened with the Queen boy." _

"_I know." She nodded. "But you've seen for yourself that Clark and Oliver are two totally different men. Ollie couldn't make room for me, but Clark always has and he always will."_

_For always and forever._

"_I just want you to be happy, Lo." He sighed and looked decidedly uncomfortable. Clark knew that Lois's father wasn't used to expressing his feelings and it showed._

"_I know." She got her arms around her father and after a moment, his closed around her. _

"_I don't say it like I should, but I do love you." His eyes closed briefly. "And I am very proud of you and what you've done."_

"_Thanks, Dad." Lois seemed to hesitate in letting him go and Clark couldn't help but feel that they were finally starting to mend their fences. A glance at the smile on his mother's face reinforced it, but then she had her arms around him and Clark would bet she was crying. _

"_I'm so happy for you, honey."_

"_Thanks, Mom." He held her close and was so glad she was there._

"_So now that the proposal is out of the way, when are you going to tie the knot?" Lois's father asked as they all sat down again and Clark reached for Lois's hand. _

"_That's up to Lois." He answered as he ran his thumb across the ring that was now on her finger. _

"_Thanks a lot, Clark." She tugged on his hand. "This isn't just going to be _my_ wedding; it's going to be _ours_. So I fully expect you to help me with everything."_

"_You know I'll do what I can." Clark smiled at her and the smile she gave in return made his heart thrum with happiness. "So when _do_ you want to get married?"_

"_Well, short of eloping I don't want to drag this engagement out." Her eyes went wide and he had the feeling Lois was berating herself for putting her foot in her mouth. "You know what I mean."_

"_I know what you mean." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "What would you say to June? It'll be long enough for us to plan a wedding and decide where we want to go on our honeymoon."_

"_Oh." Lois frowned in thought. "I guess that's something we need to talk about."_

"_One thing at a time, honey." Mom laughed softly. "If you do decide on June, you'll need to find a place soon to have the ceremony."_

"_We'll need to find a place for the reception, too." She kept frowning. "And since Clark and I aren't made of money, it can't be too expensive."_

"_How would you feel about having the reception here?" Mom suggested. "The front yard is always beautiful in the late spring and there would be enough room for some tables and chairs. And I'm sure Clark could come up with something for a small dance floor."_

"_When the weather gets a little better, I'll find a good spot and start taking measurements." He looked at Lois. "If you _want_ to have the reception here."_

"_Where else would we have it?" She put her hand to his cheek. "Some of the happiest times of my life have been on this farm." _

"_Okay." He brought his hand up to cover hers and the warmth that had begun to fill his chest when she'd said 'Yes', began to spread through the rest of his body. It was the same feeling he'd had just a few days earlier when he'd taken Lois into his bed and truly made her, his._

"_But that still leaves the ceremony." She was starting to fret and Clark was doing his best not to smile because Lois Lane always thought she in control of any situation she found herself in._

_Except this one._

"_I was thinking that we could have the ceremony at the chapel where Mom and Dad were married." He glanced at his mother and after she nodded Clark turned his attention to Lois. "They had a good marriage and I like the idea of starting our lives in the same place they started theirs."_

"_I like that idea, too." Lois gave him a soft, brief kiss. "You're a handy guy to have around, Smallville." _

"_So you've told me." He quipped and when she narrowed her eyes at him, it only made him smile._

"_Sarcasm does _not_ become you."_

"_But being engaged to you does." He assured her and then gave into the sudden urge to kiss her back. The minute her hands framed his face and her warm lips were pressed against his, he wanted to take her down on the couch so he could feel her soft curves beneath him._

"_Maybe later." Lois's warm, breathy whisper grazed his ear and he smiled. _

_She'd done it again._

"_There's no maybe about it, Lois." He promised her and started at the sound of General Lane clearing his throat._

"_So how about a toast to start this engagement off right?" _

"_And I've got just the thing." Clark's mother got up from her chair and headed toward the kitchen. "Sam, would you give me a hand?"_

"_Sure thing." He boosted himself up from his own chair and followed._

"_Smallville?"_

"_Yeah?" He zeroed in on a spot behind her ear and nuzzled it. He could hear the acceleration of her heartbeat as his lips started to track down her neck, but Lois's hands were on his shoulders and she gently pushed him away._

"_Not that I'm not enjoying that." Her face was flushed and she was trying to be serious. "But do you realize that my dad just did what your mom asked him to do?"_

"_And?" Clark didn't quite understand what she was getting at._

"_Clark, my dad _gives_ orders. He doesn't take them." She looked at him with frustration._

"_Lois, she wasn't giving him an order." He grinned and took her hand. "She asked him for some help and he helped her."_

"_And that's because good manners never go out of style." The General's amused voice made her start and when Clark looked toward the kitchen; he had a champagne bottle in his hand. His mother was right behind him with four champagne glasses in _her_ hands._

"_Besides, it never hurts to be nice to the woman who's going to be my daughter's mother in law."_

_Lois glanced over her shoulder and she admonished him. "Dad."_

_He only laughed and set the bottle down on the coffee table. "You always told me that diplomacy was never my strong suit."_

"_It's all right." Mom put the glasses down and she was shaking her head in amusement. "It's a nice change from dealing with all the lobbyists who try and say the right things so you'll vote for a particular piece of legislation."_

"_That's my problem at the Pentagon." He rolled his eyes in exasperation and Clark could see where Lois had gotten the habit from. "Damn pencil pushers think they know better than the soldiers in the field." He then glanced at Lois and to Clark's surprise, his face flushed. "That's why I didn't argue when I got orders transferring me to Fort Riley."_

"_Fort-" That was all Lois could manage. _

"_The very one." Her father looked uneasy. _

"_Will you be back before the wedding?" She seemed to find her voice and reached for Clark's hand._

"_I'll be in Kansas by the end of January." He nodded. "So, yes."_

_Clark's mother cleared her throat at the sudden tension in the room and then she smiled. "I guess it's my turn with some good news."_

"_Mom?" He looked at her and tried not to anticipate what it might be. _

"_You know that I've been trying to decide whether to run for my own term." She began. "The truth is, I've missed this place and I've missed waking up in the bed I shared with your father for all those years." She took a deep breath and continued. "I've worked hard to make a difference during my time in the senate and help the people of Kansas, but it's time to come home now."_

"_Are you sure about that?" Clark asked because he didn't want her giving up something that meant so much to her. "Kansas needs you."_

"_Yes, I'm sure." She nodded. "When I was home in October, I got to spend those few days being plain old Martha Kent. And as easy as it was to fall back into my roll of being Jonathan's wife and your mother, I realized that being back in Smallville didn't mean I'd have to stop serving my neighbors. _

"_I've been doing that since the first time I helped your father throw sand bags during a rainstorm and it made me a part of this wonderful community in a way nothing else could have."_

"_I don't remember that." Clark remarked, but wasn't surprised. That's what his parents had always done; pitch in whenever they were needed. _

"_Jonathan and I had just gotten married and we hadn't adopted you yet." She told him. "Besides, now that you and Lois are getting married, I'd like to spend more time at home for that. And if Lois wouldn't mind my help-"_

"_Since you've actually been through this-" Lois smiled at her. "I could use your expertise."_

"_Hardly expertise, honey. Just an extra pair of hands when you need them." _

"_I'll take it." Lois got up from the couch and stepped over to his mother and hugged her. "I can't imagine getting through this without you."_

"_You'll get through it, Lois; with or without my help." She laughed and then Clark heard her low voice. "Now why don't you say something to your father. I think he's feeling a little left out."_

_Lois nodded and turned to face her father, who suddenly stood. "Fort Riley, huh?"_

"_That's it." _

"_The end of January?" She asked and Clark heard the nervous flutter of her heart._

"_That's what my orders say." He nodded and seemed to be trying to gauge how Lois felt about his transfer. _

"_So that means I won't have to worry you won't get back from Washington in time to give me away." The flutter slowed to its normal rhythm and her stance relaxed a little._

"_Nothing will stop that from happening." He assured her and took an awkward step toward her. "I'm happy for you, Lo; I am. I worried for a long time that you wouldn't let anyone close enough to see what a wonderful girl you are."_

"_Dad." Lois shook her head and Clark knew she didn't want to believe it._

"_Don't Dad me, Lois." He shook his own head. "You're stubborn and headstrong; you get that from me. But you have your mother's big heart and her unshakable loyalty to the people you love."_

"_Which does includes _you_, you know." She told him and there was a hint of amusement in her voice. "Even when you drive me crazy." _

"_It's a two way street, missy." He cracked a reluctant grin. "You took a lot of pleasure in doing just that to me, too."_

"_That's true." And then she laughed softly, taking her own awkward step forward. "I've got to say, it's going to be weird having you so close."_

"_You and me both." He sighed. "But I expect we'll get used to it."_

"_I hope so." She admitted and Clark knew it hadn't been easy for her to say it._

"_So do I." The General nodded his agreement and without another word, he had his arms around her shoulders. Lois' arms wound around his waist and they held each other close._

_But they both seemed to realize at the same time where they were and pulled back. He cleared his throat and Lois walked back to the couch and sat down next to Clark._

"_I'm very proud of you." He whispered and kissed her cheek. _

"_We have a bottle of champagne here that's going to get warm if we don't open it soon." Lois's father cleared his throat again as he picked up the bottle. _

"_Why don't you do the honors." Clark suggested and Lois's father looked a little dubious._

"_I haven't done this in awhile." He forewarned. "So watch out for a flying cork."_

"_You can do it, Dad." Lois laughed. "Just order the cork to behave."_

"_That's enough out of you." An eyebrow went up, but he was smiling. A few moments later, he'd worked the cork out with a muted 'pop', poured the first glass and handed it to Lois. He handed a second glass to Clark and a third to his mother. He poured the last glass for himself and put the bottle down as the three stood up. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take the lead here."_

_There were no objections, so he continued._

"_It's no secret that Lo and I had a rough go of it while she was growing up. But in spite of our butting heads on a regular basis, she grew up into a fine young woman who I'm proud to call my daughter. Now she's found a young man who sees in her what I saw in her mother and I can't help but think that young Kent here is very lucky to have found her. So, Martha if you would raise your glass with me I'd like to say congratulations to both of our children and wish them many happy years together."_

_He cleared his throat yet again and Clark's mother was nearly in tears. _

"_I don't think it's possible to top that, so I'll just say this. I wish our children the same happiness that I shared with Jonathan and that they continue to build on the wonderful memories they've created together. To Clark and to Lois."_

_She raised her glass and Sam raised his. Lois' hand was shaking terribly in Clark's and he suspected that she was as close to tears as his mother. He cleared his own throat and had to blink to keep his eyes from flooding._

_Lois took a small sip and then set it down before she let go of Clark's hand and walked around the coffee table to her father. He couldn't tell what she was thinking and even Sam looked a little wary as his daughter approached him._

"_I didn't know you had it in you." There was clear emotion in her voice and it was obvious that her father's heartfelt toast had gotten to her and she threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Daddy."_

_Sam got his arms around her and patted her back gingerly, self consciously. But the sound of his jack hammering heart revealed just how much his daughter's words meant to him. "I meant every bit of it."_

"_I know." She answered him quietly. "That's why it meant so much."_

_Clark looked at his mother and smiled, and then he had his arms around her shoulders. "You're a very lucky young man."_

"_I know." He grinned. "And she'll probably remind me of that for the rest of our lives."_

"_And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?" Her laugh was soft and she hugged him to her._

"_No, I wouldn't."_

"_Good answer, Smallville." _

"_I thought you'd like it." _

oooooo

It was a beautiful day for a wedding, everyone had said so.

It was the perfect day to say 'I Do' to Clark, after walking up the aisle on her father's arm to pledge her life to the man who'd made her life complete. But to be fair, she knew that she'd made _his_ life complete, too.

And one of these days, they'd become a real family when their children started coming along.

To Lois' surprise, and a bit of consternation, she knew she wouldn't mind if they came sooner rather than later. Because the maternal feelings she'd experienced with Ellen and Sam in her dream were like none other. And having Clark there by her side as they raised their children together, made the appeal of parenthood that much greater.

He looked so handsome in his dark suit that day. He chose to forgo a tuxedo and his neatly brushed hair made her want to run her fingers through it to muss it up because that was her favorite look on him.

Mussed up hair because he'd been doing something as important as Blurring around Metropolis or something as simple as driving the tractor across the newly prepared rows as he planted the new corn crop.

It made her happy to see how he'd finally been able to incorporate the different parts of his life into one life and to feel the satisfaction that came from being not only the Blur, but an up and coming cub reporter for a major newspaper and a farmer like his father and grandfather.

Each of those facets of his life and his devotion to her were what made Clark Kent a whole and complete man. And it was one of many reasons that she loved him so much.

She was surprised that Mrs. Kent, _Martha_, had been able to get away from Washington as much as she did during those six months. But as she explained on her first trip home after the engagement, there was a lot about her job she could take care of just as easily from the farmhouse as she could from her office.

'_The wonder of modern technology.' _She'd told Lois as she opened her laptop to check on messages from her office the day Lois was being fitted in the dress she would wear.

She'd been unable to find something that she was happy with, so Martha had presented the dress she'd worn when she married Jonathan, for her consideration. She admitted that it might not be a style that Lois would like, but there was something about the layers of lace in the full skirt that did appeal to her.

And how appropriate was it that she and Clark took their vows in the very place where Martha had worn it?

To put a couple of cherries on top of their happy day, Clark and Chloe had nearly repaired their friendship. Lois had told the both of them in no uncertain terms that they were going to be spending a lot of time together because she wanted Chloe to be her maid of honor, and they'd better figure out a way to bury the hatchet.

They'd done as she'd asked and while it was painful to watch at times, they did try. She had the feeling though, that because of what had happened they would never again be as close as they'd once been. That had begun to happen anyway, because she and Clark confided in the other more than anyone else. But Martha would've said that's as it should have been.

The other development was that Oliver was still seeing Deanna, the girl he'd brought with him to the Regent all those months ago. As far as Lois knew, it was an exclusive relationship and the effect on her friend was almost miraculous. He'd quit drinking and during the reception all Lois saw was a club soda with a twist of lime in his hand; even Dad was impressed.

And it took a lot to impress the General.

They didn't spend a lot of time apart and Lois thought that was due to the fact that Deanna didn't know anyone other than her and Clark. But on further observation, she could see that they didn't particularly _want_ to be apart.

And while family loyalty should have prevailed, Lois had ended up tossing the bouquet in her direction and hoped that Chloe would understand.

"Have I told you yet how incredible you look?" She felt the touch of a familiar pair of hands on her shoulders and a kiss in her hair. "I'm glad you took Mom up on her offer."

"Oh, please." She giggled and loved that he had that power over her. "You're glad that it's _strap_less."

"That, too." His warm breath was near her ear as he laughed and her stomach coiled tight with a deep need for him. "Mom's getting a little concerned that we're going to lose our reservations, so she's asked that we step on it."

"And I suppose you're volunteering to help me out of this?" She turned her head to see his smiling face.

"If I did that, we wouldn't be leaving this room anytime soon." He admitted with a blush. It amazed her that he still did that because he'd gained so much confidence in the last year; he wasn't so much her shy farm boy any longer. "So I'll change in Mom's room and you can stay here."

"You sure about that?" She asked coyly, even knowing what his answer would be.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for that after we get to the hotel." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I still can't believe that you agreed to a week at the Regent." Lois turned to face him. "But I thought it was really sweet of Ollie to give that to us as a wedding present."

"And what's going to make it that much more special is that he was able to get the suite we stayed in." He suddenly looked uneasy at the idea. "Lois, you know that I appreciate what he's doing; but that room isn't cheap."

"I know you do." She agreed. "But he knows what it means to us and it's not exactly like he's hurting for money."

He nodded, but still looked uncomfortable.

"Clark, I understand how you feel because I feel that too." She reached out for his hand. "He's trying to make up for what happened and we need to accept it in the spirit it was given."

"A whole week in a honeymoon suite with you?" He smiled and squeezed her fingers. "I think I can do that."

"Yea." She smiled back at him. "There's something _else_ you can do, too."

"Not if I don't get out of here." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "So before my mother or your father comes looking for us, I need to change."

"Have I told you yet how incredible you look?" She knew she was repeating what he'd just said to her, but she was sincere. "Until last year, I could never picture you in a suit because I couldn't see you as anything more than a farm boy; but you surprised me."

"And if I'm lucky, I'll be able to do that a few times while we're married."

_Married. _

That was going to take some getting used to, but the rings she and Clark were wearing were going to make that task much easier.

A soft knock on the door got Lois and Clark to turn and when it opened, Mrs. Kent was standing in the doorway. She looked really lovely in her pale lavender summer dress and her cheeks flushed. "I don't mean to interrupt, but it _is_ getting late. Your father put the suitcases in the car, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Thanks, Mrs. K." Lois responded automatically and felt her own face warm in embarrasement. _That_ was taking some getting used to as well; calling her new mother in law, Martha.

"You're welcome." She laughed softly, aware of the same thing and pulled the door closed.

"I wish I could remember to stop calling her Mrs. Kent." Lois sighed.

"I know what you mean." It was Clark's turn to laugh and he nodded. "Your dad's been trying to get me to call him Sam since Easter. But every time I see him in that uniform, I feel like I should call him 'Sir'."

"The uniform was his way of intimidating any guy I wanted to date." She felt the need to tell him. "Though with you, I honestly don't think he realizes that he's doing it because you're the only guy I know who Dad really likes."

"Well considering that we're married now, I'd hope so." He grinned and Lois felt her face flush at the word 'married'. "Besides, I like him too. The truth is, if it hadn't been for him and your mother I wouldn't have you."

"You are so sweet." Lois felt her eyes tear and then launched herself into his arms to kiss him. "And you're mine."

"I think you've got that backward, Lois." He kissed her back, very softly and reluctantly let her go. "So before your dad takes his turn to knock on that door, I need to get out of here. When you finish changing, come down to Mom's room."

"Or you could come back and get _me_." She flashed him a suggestive grin.

"Which would defeat the purpose of going to my mother's room." He gave her his best exasperated look even as he blushed and kissed her again. He sighed before he walked to their bedroom door, stepped outside and closed it behind him.

Her bashful farm boy was still there.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

oooooo

Lois had told him once that her career at the _Planet_ would always come first. But that was before she'd found herself, in her own words, inexplicably in love with him.

And after the dreams they'd had during their stay at the Regent, while her career was still important to her, Clark had become _more_ important. More to the point, she wanted his babies in the very worst way and for Lois; it was such a new way of thinking.

For Clark, it was something he never thought he'd ever hear. To know that a woman loved him so much that she'd willingly go through a pregnancy carrying a half-Kryptonian baby, not knowing exactly what that would mean for them.

But Lois being Lois, she wasn't thinking about that. Clark knew that she didn't see him as a Kryptonian, she just saw him as her Smallville and as the man she wanted to be the father to her children.

Though to be truthful, she wanted him to be a father to Ellen and Sam.

Those were images he still carried with him and he knew Lois did, too. A precocious five year old daughter who was just like her mother and an infant son who fit so perfectly in the crook of his arm and had eyes as blue as his fathers. They would be the only two people in his life that he would love as much as his wife and his parents.

When Lois had finished changing, she met him at his mother's bedroom door and they went downstairs. When they got to the front porch, the small contingent of guests was gathered in the yard and Clark took her hand, ready to run the gauntlet of merry birdseed throwers.

Before they made a run for Lois's car, their parents stopped them just outside the screen door to give them hugs and heartfelt words of good luck. Clark could hear the rushing of Lois's heartbeat as her father held her close and knew she was close to tears.

He expected to hear a joke from the General, about his good little soldier not crying. But from the sound of his own rapid heart rate, Clark knew it wouldn't come because this was a moment that meant so much to Lois's father, too.

His own mother's eyes were full of tears and she put a trembling hand on his chest. "I wish your father were here to tell you this."

'_Tell me what?' _

He gave his mother a questioning look and she smiled bashfully before pushing herself up on her toes and reminded him quietly in his ear. "Always be a gentleman in bed."

"Yes, ma'am." He smiled with some embarrassment at the advice that Dad had more than likely received from his own father and hugged his mother. "We'll be home in a week."

"Honey, do try and spend as much time as you can with Lois." A look of concern crossed her face and Clark knew what she meant.

"It's all right, Mom." He reassured her. "Oliver and the others will be taking care of things this week so I won't have to."

"And they have my help if they need it." Sam chimed in softly. "I've already talked to the Queen boy about that."

"Dad, why won't you call him Oliver?" Lois sighed. "I thought you two had called a truce."

"We did." He shrugged and offered nothing else in the way of explanation.

"Whatever." She shook her head and after hugging Clark's mother, she took his hand and pulled him down the porch stairs and they were immediately showered with handfuls of birdseed.

Clark and Lois had finally told her father about his origins and his abilities when the Lanes and Kents had gotten together for Easter. It surprised Clark that his future father in law had accepted his story as easily as he did, though looking back it shouldn't have because Lois had accepted it just as easily.

Oliver and Chloe were standing at the fence waiting and hugs and handshakes were exchanged.

"Don't worry about anything this week, big guy." Oliver smiled at them. "We've got everything covered so turn off that super hearing of yours and spend the time with your new wife."

"Will do." Clark agreed and opened the passenger door for Lois.

"And don't even think about checking in with the _Planet_." Chloe admonished her cousin. "The basement will survive with the two of you gone for a few days."

"Don't worry, Chlo." Lois laughed. "This big lug will be keeping me too occupied to think about work."

_Big lug? _That was a new one.

"Whatever." Chloe rolled her eyes and looked very much like her older cousin. "So did you ever decide what your new name is going to be?"

"Well, you know that I was thinking about going with Lois Lane-Kent. But after talking to Mrs. K, I realized that giving up my name won't change who I am." She looked up at Clark and smiled at him. "So from now on, you can call me Lois Kent."

_He liked the sound of that. _

But he wouldn't have objected if she'd decided to keep Lane or go with Lane-Kent. The most important thing was that she'd married him.

"Who knew that Lois Lane would go with the traditional?" Oliver teased her with a grin. "I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd talked Clark into changing _his_ name."

"That's enough out of you, Mr. Green Jeans." Lois huffed and her ex only laughed. "Kent is a good name and I won't mind having it for the rest of my life."

"Me, either." Clark felt his face warm with possessive pleasure and reached for her hand. "Your dad is making a point of tapping his watch, so that's our signal to get the heck out of here."

"As if you're objecting." She leaned up and kissed his cheek before she got in the car. She then looked up at him and tapped her own wristwatch. "Let's go."

He nodded his agreement and found himself face to face with a girl he'd once considered his best friend. "Lois thinks she's indestructible sometimes, so I'm depending on you to keep her out of trouble. You're the only one who can."

"I will, Chloe." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Try not to worry."

"Clark, you _do_ know who we're talking about?" She laughed softly and he gave into the impulse to put his arms around his friend and hug her.

His chest then warmed with a particular happiness he'd felt since Lois had accepted his marriage proposal and he shrugged. "That's what's going to make our life together so interesting."

"And you're not going to get it started standing here talking to us." Oliver quipped as the wedding guests converged on the car. "So get the hell out of here and get your marriage off on the right foot."

Clark nodded again and walked around to the driver's side of the car and got in. Lois handed him the keys as he closed his door and after putting the key in the ignition, he started the car. He secured his seat belt and with a wave to their parents and everyone who'd come to see them get married, he started down the drive to sounds of the last of the birdseed pelting the car.

"I never realized what a talker my cousin is." Lois sat back. "And it's the first time in a long time I've seen her smile."

"Haven't you heard?" He spared her a glance before putting his attention back on the narrow dirt road. "Weddings make people smile."

"I think _ours_ left people scratching their heads." She giggled and Clark knew he'd never get tired of the sound. "I mean seriously. Who would look at us and see a couple?"

"I would." He answered honestly and Lois laughed again.

"Well _now_, sure." She told him. "But can you honestly tell me that you could see us as a couple even a year ago?"

She had him there because he hadn'tbeen ready yet and even now, couldn't help but wish he had been. It would have saved so much heartache for the both of them.

"I was too afraid to." He finally told her. "So much had happened that I didn't trust myself and I didn't want to hurt you more than I already had."

"Fair enough." She replied. "The important thing is that we're together, we're married and no one will ever make you as happy as I will."

Leave it to Lois to state the obvious.

"No one will ever make me as crazy either." He added with a smile as he came to the end of the drive and turned on to the main road, heading to Metropolis and the beginning of the rest of their lives together. He then reached for her hand and squeezed it.

"I love you, too." She squeezed back and refused to relinquish his hold.

It was with a strong sense of déjà vu that he drove the car back to the same hotel that had put them on the path to a lifetime together. Only _this_ time they truly were honeymooners.

And ten months later they were the proud parents of a baby girl.

Ellen Martha Kent.

**The End.**


End file.
